《The Draconians - Draconian Ally》 Chapter 1 - Oh, Great! "I''ve never seen a creature so small before," a low growl emerged. Somebody didn''t actively speak those words but vibrated them as if the vocal box was projecting the sound. "What should we do with it?" the strange voice continued. "Leave it be." a more motherly-sounding voice said. "he''ll wake when he has made the full transition." "Is he the one?" the first voice questioned. "He is a piece, how big is unknown, but a piece nonetheless. Only time will tell.." the motherly voice responded. Oscar-Blane Jones, or Ob, began his day like every other. Wake up, work out, shower, make lunch, go to work, come home, eat dinner, sleep, and repeat. He didn''t hate this routine; he loved it. It was familiar, like an old friend who had always been there for him. So when he fell asleep in his bed, after completing his regular routine to wake up shivering cold and hearing strange noises, he was pretty confused. Ugh. my head, he thought. Why am I so cold? Why can''t I open my eyes? Why can''t I feel my body? Oh Great! Is this¡­ what did my brother call it? Sleep paralysis, I think... Is this that? Ob finally could force his eyes open to see flashing exclamation marks all over the place. Notifications. There were so many. "What the¡­ notifications. How do I? What is happening? How do I acknowledge these things?" He said as he was swiping his hand at nothing in the air. Then, he began realizing that maybe he had just to say it out loud. Ob¡¯s voice was deep, but not too deep. Ob¡¯s had the tone and cadence of a podcaster. It was smooth and it was attractive to the ears. Ob spoke with passion and emotions. It was clear how he was feeling by how he spoke. "Ehhh, open? Read?" he said out loud nervously. "You have died." a text box appeared at the bottom of his vision. "I-I have died?" he said somewhat skeptically. "Died whatchu mean¡­ Did I die? How am I talking or living or feeling if I am dead?" Objective: a new loud voice rang in his head. Find your body and reconnect the link. You''ve been given the objective to travel to find your resting physical body. This process will resurrect you. "Huh? What kind of foolishness, man? Quit playing with me. Where''d that voice come from, body? What the hell is happening?" Ob responded as panic was setting in. Help? the voice said again. "Yes!" Ob replied, panic washing away with excitement. Objective: find your body and reconnect the link. You''ve been given the objective to travel to find your resting physical body. This process will resurrect you. "Awesome, you just repeated the same damn thing," Ob yelled in frustration. Ob began to think about his options. He decided to do what he always does. Act. Ob pushes himself to his feet to find he can see through his hands. Mmm, Ob thought, if I am looking for my body... Is this my soul? Souls are real? What a trip, man. These DAMN exclamation points are pissing me off. WHAT?! Status: the voice read Oscar - Blane Jones. "Ew.. just Ob," Ob interrupted. Status: Nickname chosen. Status: Ob Jones. Race: human subset, earthling. Normal Tier: Level 0 Power: Natural - Unknown, Nurtured- Unknown, Federation- Unknown. Skills: None Ability: Dimension Skipper You wake up in a new dimension. Death? Fate? Whatever it is, you are here for a reason. This is your chance to figure it out. Dimension Skipper comes with the ????, ????, and ???? Ability: Earthling You have the ability to adapt. Your adaptation comes with a heads-up display and user interface. Adaptation comes with a voice-over Narrator. Would you like to name it Voice over Narrator?" "Um, sure? I could use a buddy right now. Are you sentient?" Ob responded. Would you like to name Voice Over Narrator? "Right, you have a knack for repeating things. Bet. How about V.O.N. Von?" Status: Nickname chosen for voice-over narrator. Voice Over Narrator, will now be known as VON, VON said. "Cool¡­ are you sentient VON?" Ob asked. Help: I am VON. I am your guide based on your earthling ability. In a dimension that is not your original home, I am here to help you feel at home and to understand the brand-new mystical world around you. VON said. "Oh-kay then, VON, not really an answer to my question, but we''ll keep it pushing," Ob responded with annoyance. "Fasho, that was a lot of information that made absolutely no sense to me... Where to then? Gotta find my body... I must be trippin." This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Ob spent the next few moments learning how to move. In awkward stumbles, he found his footing. It was an odd sensation, moving without muscles. He is still determining how he managed that. After what seemed like an hour, maybe more, he finally got some zombie walking down, if you can even call it that. Man. This is tough, Ob thought, so I got this jerky movement down. I feel like a newborn giraffe. I guess I head ehh this way? He said rather unconvincingly. As he was stumbling over that way, he felt a strong pull going in the other direction. Oh, okay, okay, I got it, damn! Going the other way¡­ As Ob wandered in that direction, he couldn''t help but notice he noticed nothing. There were no landmarks; there was nothing but a shiny haze. What could have been miles, Ob finally saw something different from this haze: a figure on the ground and a flickering light above the figure. The light was dim, and it was red. Ob cautiously approached the flickering light; to his surprise, it was a little heart. The heart was a standard love heart, not the anatomically correct one. Most of the heart was black, with a tiny red near the bottom. "I feel like I am in a video game. The heart, the walking, VON, all of it," Ob said to himself, "What is happening? I know for a fact that this is not my body." The body under the heart was pale. It had long, stringy black hair barely attached to the wrinkled body. A long neck led to a short, chubby torso. Following that was the next strangest thing that Ob had seen so far¡­ the legs were goat legs. Black fur goat legs. Ob, a fan of Greek mythology, started to wonder, "Is this a ---" The eyes shot open, the mouth released this hideous screech, and they lunged at Ob. Objective: Survive: You have been attacked by a wraith. Survive the attack until the wraiths return to their near-death state. "Hell nah, bruh. What.." Ob Yelled as he bolted in the other direction, "A wraith¡­ the hell is a wraith." The wraith did not respond in kind to Ob. It continued to pursue its victim. Ob was sprinting as fast as he could to outrun this monster. Ob started to realize he wouldn''t be able to outrun this wraith. The wraith was gaining, and he was also shocked that he was running and running FAST. Before Ob woke up here, he was an athletic man. Standing 6 foot 4, he was above average in height, weighing a solid 210 pounds with little body fat. A former track athlete, Ob competed at the top collegiate level and had a small stint as a professional before he decided to hang up his spikes. Ob was no stranger to running fast; however, this was much faster than he had ever run. He couldn''t outrun this monster, and in no way did he want to find out if that thing touched him. As Ob was running, he felt that strong pull again, pulling him back toward the direction of the wraith. His strides slowed; he felt like he was running with a weighted parachute in a windstorm. He had to fight the wraith. Ob stopped and thought. He decided to see if there was a way to harm the wraith. Not much of a fighter, he knew how to fight. He used to cross-train in boxing and grapple in his off-season, but this did not give him the most confidence to win this fight or even survive. The shriek grew louder as he got into a stance, getting prepared for the battle. He swung. Ob put all the frustration, the anger, the annoyance, the confusion into that punch, everything he had. The punch connected. It impacted the jaw of the wraith with a loud CRACK. The wraith''s jaw exploded in a mixture of bone and black liquid. The wraith''s head snapped sideways, and the vile monster fell limp, the heart above its head empty. Ob stared at his fist. No pain from the punch. He has hit stuff bare-knuckle and knows it is supposed to hurt. With that force, there should be something on his hands. Nothing. Was it the lack of nerves, muscles, or skin? Was he more vital than before? What was that power that caused such a devastating hit... He staggered, feeling wobbly, and he sat on the ground to catch his breath. Objective: Survive - completed Wraith defeated. You have survived the wraith attack. A reward has been sent to your body. Slayer Nurture power +1 Bonus growth for slaying the beast instead of waiting for its demise. Reward was sent to body. Ob looked in shock at what he had just accomplished. How come that was so easy? Where did that strength come from? How was it even possible to have tangible contact with that thing? His mind was whirling with all the questions and none of the answers. Wiping his arm and getting to his feet, Ob grew frustrated at the lack of answers. Then he remembered VON. "Hey Von," he said out loud, "can you tell me something?" Help? "Yeah¡­ What is a wraith? Where am I? What am I? What do you mean by reward sent to body? How did I kill that?" Monster Log: Wraith Deadly vengeful spirit. Wraiths deploy deafening shrieks to stun and disable enemies. While the enemy is stunned, the wraith will attack their life force. Needing to feed on the life force of others so they can return to the place where they were killed. They attack with sharp fangs, weapons, and claws. Immune to physical attacks. Wraiths can only be destroyed by a spiritual attack. Magic can harm a wraith but not kill one. You have died. Your body is making a transition. Your soul must reconnect to the link to your body in order to be resurrected. You are a soul in search of your body. "So the question marks mean you don''t know, or I can''t learn. Okay," Ob said, and he began to walk towards the strong pulling again, "I have an objective. I have to find my body." He didn''t know what was pulling him, but he felt it was the right thing, calling it instinct. No markers to show his journey, nothing to indicate the distance traveled or how far he has to go. As he journeyed, he talked to VON, asking many questions. Before Ob died, he was a naturally curious person. He loved learning. It did not matter what subject he was so curious about the world around him. The enjoyment of asking VON these questions helped Ob feel calmer and familiar. He wondered absently about his life before, though. Had he really died? What would his family think? Ob was a nice guy with a solid community. He was a number in a rather large family. The black sheep. He grew up with four brothers and four sisters. He was the fifth child. Directly in the middle, he was the third boy out of five, fifth out of nine total kids. His older siblings were all married with kids or kids on the way. Most of the family interacted without him. It was the way he liked it, though. But a deep part of him lay dormant, a part that wants to be a part of something bigger. Shaking his head at those thoughts, he recalled what he had learned from VON. He messed around with his Heads Up Display (HUD). It showed a minimap in the top right corner of his vision. To the left corner, he saw a yellowish-brown bar and a blue bar running side by side. He learned stamina is the yellowish-brown bar and manna is the blue bar. The bottom left was where his messages and notifications stayed. He learned how to check his stats purposefully, not accidentally. He noticed something interesting every time he talked to VON. Status: VON VON has leveled up. VON is now level 2. VON''s answer pool has increased. VON''s ability to engage in conversation has increased. VON is now closer to a tour guide than a specified help feature. Progress to level three. 1500 exp is needed to level up. VON must rest in order to be used again. The current wait is 10 minutes. Ob wondered how many levels VON had. Did VON become sentient after a certain amount of levels? After he rechecked his stats, he learned he was Normal Level and had zero powers unlocked; VON could not tell him what that meant. The slayer bonus was still looming; he wasn''t sure what that was. After looking at the notification, it told him he could apply it to a power, but since no powers were unlocked, he could not use it. A loud screech halted his progress. There was not a loud screech, but there were MANY loud screeches. He looked up and found what he was looking for. His body, there it was, lying on the ground still, with that same flickering heart. What he also saw made his heart fall.. Ten wraiths swarmed his body, seemingly like they were waiting for him, for Ob to reclaim his body so they could attack him. Yeah.. that ain''t happening. I got lucky with my one-punch man routine the last time. I will not be as fortunate, Ob thought. As Ob started thinking of his next plan of action, a bright blaze of orange and black flames erupted out of nowhere, eliminating all the wraiths. "Come closer, human," a melodic voice vibrated, "It is time for your journey to begin. Collect your body, then you and I will have a chat. Away from these awful creatures," Ob couldn''t see anything making that noise. He suddenly felt a strange feeling that whatever was speaking to him was dangerous and strong. "There are more wraiths on their way. I sense your hesitation. All will be answered in time. For now, touch your body and wake up." A bunch of screeches emerged from behind him as if it was planned in a movie. Ob moved towards the voice and his body, fully expecting to wake up from this crazy dream. As commanded, he touched the body, and everything went black. Chapter 2 - Beauty and Wonder Abigail was not having a good day. She had studied and studied and still failed the Elven enchantress exam. "Too weak, no power, no strength," the examiners had written on her exam results. She had left the city where the exam had taken place to meet back at her rendezvous spot with her party. However, she was extremely frustrated and decided to walk alone before getting to the location. Abigail Montall is an Elven healer. She is a hard worker, determined, and brilliant. She comes from a small Elf tribe in the West. She was the first from her tribe to be an Enchantress. Enchantress power is unlocked in the Natural Power slot. It is a legendary rarity to have the nature of an enchantress. Being an Enchantress means she can spell cast with ease but not spells that are damage dealing. Those would take longer to learn, if ever. As a result of the difficulty, her spells were healing-focused. This is why she has failed constantly; she only had skills to help her defend and protect. Abigail felt immense pressure to be this great elf. The one who would bring them wealth and great fortune. The one where everyone''s success depended on her. Abigail hated this pressure. She didn''t want to lead a stationary life. She wanted to explore. She wanted to view all the beauty and wonders of the world. She found a bench and took a seat, going further into her deep thoughts. She smiled as she recalled all the great adventures she had had already in her young career. She missed her young self before all the pressure; she was young, dumb, and so free. She missed that. Always dreaming of that sweet, sweet, pressureless freedom. "Hey, why the long face?" a smooth voice interrupted her thoughts and said. The voice was smooth with a constant hint of care. He spoke with genuine care toward everyone he communicated with. He spoke with a lot of slang. "Oh," Abigail replied to the scrawny man in front of her. "Hey, Vin.. how long have you been there?" Abigail¡¯s voice sounded like she attended a top university in Oxford, England. She spoke with grace and elegance. It was formal and proper. The man named Vin frowned, "Just walked up to ya, Abs. What''s wrong? You''re usually more alert." "I failed again.." she said with exasperated sadness, "I am too weak," she growled. "I need to get stronger. I need stronger attacks or ANY attack spells. I just do not have the skills for it. That makes it so hard. My total set is so - " "Defender" "Yes, Exactly. They are so defensive. I need some attacking power. Otherwise, you and I will never make it as a big crusader party. We need more power." "Our team is brand new Abs. We got plenty of time to find that power. It would be ideal if we find someone from the Maverick Federation. "Not this again... Vincent, the Mavericks are all jerks. They are so full of it. I won''t stand to have one in our party!" "Oh, come on, Abigail. Just ''cause the one we met that jerk-off werewolf doesn''t mean we cannot trust ANY mavericks. Just gotta do some extra vettin'', that''s all." Vincent pleaded. Vincent was a close friend of Abigail, the human to her elf. They grew up as neighbors in the West. The two have been friends since they were near babes. Vincent''s family are all hunters; he comes from a prominent tribe of hunters. The best in their small provincial area. Vincent''s parents would deliver fresh games to Abigail''s family in exchange for elixirs and health potions. Vincent was a medium-built man; his skin was marked with intricate tribal tattoos covering his face and feet. He had tanner skin, as if he was from the Earthly Middle East; his hair was curly and dark black. He had hazel brown eyes and a short-cropped beard. Vincent wore a dark forest green camo tunic top and bottom with a hunter''s bow hung around his chest and a few throwing knives along his belt. His voice was smooth and mellow; he was taught to talk like this so he could talk while on the hunt. His steps were light and nearly imperceptible. Vincent knew Abigail was destined to be great. He wanted to help his closest friend reach that. She just had a habit of getting in her own way. He gently touched his friend, touched her shoulder, and whispered, "Our party is going to be great. Not because you are leading it but because WE are leading it. Not all pressure is on you." Abigail felt electricity course through her once he touched her. Did Vincent, her oldest friend, feel that too? Does he share similar feelings as her? Soaking in his words and warm presence, she took a slow, deep breath. Then, slow-released it, along with her tensions. "You are right, Vin. I cannot judge them for one ignorant prick." She took another long breath, breathing in his delightful scent; it was familiar and calming. "I am just not having a good day. Failing yet another examination did not help my mood either. I just feel unsure. I do not know; maybe I am just in my own head, or maybe I am getting ill." "Or¡­ or¡­ or.. Or.. n-not," Vincent stammered, pointing up to the sky as a large dark shadow covered the park.
Ob woke up lying flat. He was, yet again, cold on his back. Not translucent this time. He could see his dark milk chocolate skin yet again. He never grew a lot of body hair before, which is why he was surprised to feel a little stubble on his face. Ob spent the next few moments examining his body and noting the differences. "I am bigger? Like more jacked... Dang, I''m not mad at this. I don''t know how I feel about the stubble; I always enjoyed the clean shave. My hair is longer." Ob wore tight braids, tightened into two lines across his head, ending with two small braided ponytails hanging just by his neck. Ob noticed he was wearing the same gym shorts he used to go to sleep in. "Okay, so not dreaming then." Objective: Find your body and reconnect the link. Completed You have found your body. Reward - Dragon Tunic Reward - Dragon Pant Legs Reward - Dragon Boots Reward - 1500 Gold pieces Reward - 10 XS Explixirs - 5 S Explixirs - 1 M Explixirs Reward - Ice Blue Stone Reward - Spellcasting Guide Bonus Rewards for Slaying the Wraith Reward - 15 S Exp-lixirs Reward - Dragon Charm Reward - Spectral Cloak All items have been put in inventory. To access inventory, view the chest icon on HUD. You have received new clothing. Would you like to put on new clothing? Yes/No? "Yeah," Ob said, "Get me some clothes." Swirls started to appear around Ob. Ob felt a rush of power as he was wearing his new clothes. The outfit was black mixed with red and orange as if he was staring into a solar eclipse. The cloak flowing behind him had an actual solar eclipse in the design, slowly showing the moon covering a bright sun. Item: Spectral Cloak Bondable Item Legendary The cloak matches the spectral aura of the wielder. This is a bondable item. Once bonded, the item will unlock a skill within the Natural Powerset. Insufficient power to bond. Cloak cannot be bonded. Cloak provides different abilities based on bond. Without the bond, the cloak is a good-looking piece of clothing. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Item: Dragon Charm Bondable Item Divine The charm grants the power to create a soul-link with a dragon. The dragon must be of equal or lower level or age, whichever is lower. The dragon has the right to refuse the link; if this happens, the charm will become inactive for 7 days. After that, the charm may be attempted again on a different dragon. Soul-link, you gain a buddy for life. You and the being you are soul-linked to will travel together and explore the world. An extremely unique bond is that those who are soul-linked have an intrinsic understanding of each other''s feelings, thoughts, auras, and souls. The two grow stronger as they work together, becoming an unbreakable unit. WARNING: choose wisely. A soul-link is a challenging thing to come by, and if you choose a soul-link with an inherently evil being, you, too, will become corrupt. You will feel no effect if you select a soul-ink with an inherently neutral being. If you choose a soul-link with an innately good being, you, too, will become good. "I see you are learning about your spoils." A melodic motherly noise entered the space he was in, startling Ob. "Oh, ah yes, sorry! I got distracted. There was a lot of information on that item¡­ I also cannot see you. I also don''t think I heard you, but I did¡­ How is that possible?" said out loud. "I am Flaxornora. The Queen of the Astrological Dragons of the North. Yes, child. I do not speak as you humans do. I use my vocal box to create words as you perceive them, and my dragon nature projects it into your mind," Flaxornora responded. "We all speak this way." "That did not make any sense to me, but okay, Queen Flaxornora.." He said syllable by syllable, "I''m Ob, er Ob Jones. Do you mind answering 1 or 15 questions I have? I know I''m tripping because you just told me you were a dragon, and that is not the thing I am focusing on¡­" Ob said, rubbing his temples and shaking his head. An odd noise erupted from the shadows; Ob could only assume it was laughter. A gigantic dragon walked out. It had icy blue scales that glimmered like stars in the night sky. Ob also saw green and blue lights flash across her scales. Her head was about the size of Ob. She had wings that would span 10 feet in both directions. Her body was as long as a bus. Ob stood in awe as this beautiful yet terrifying creature walked in front of him. The dragon stared at him. Once again, Ob felt that feeling of danger, and his instincts were telling him to RUN. He swallowed that feeling and put on a false facade. "Oh, very good. You do a good job at forcing your resolve." Flaxornora complimented, "Please call me Flaxy. Yes, I am able to answer some of your questions in due time. You are in Woarndoleth, one of the few dimensions connected to your home dimension. I am not sure how you got here, but your body arrived a few days ago, cold and pale. Ancient stories tell of this happening all throughout our world. Bodies appear dead but are idle, waiting for the soul to be reconnected. The answer as to why was never passed down. Each reason is different; each being who comes comes comes with a different purpose. It is up to you to find out why you are here, Ob. I cannot keep you here forever. You must travel South. The beginning of your journey starts there." She paused, giving Ob an assessing look. "Your nature is friendly towards the dragons. This is why we did not destroy your body. This is extremely rare, especially for those traveling to this dimension. Now tell me, "What long item were you learning about?" "Woarndoleth, Wo arn dole th¡­ another dimension okay. Great. Yeah, this is insane. What?! What about my old life? Am I just dead? Is this an avatar? Am I living both lives? What is happening??" Ob started to ramble, overthinking and panic setting in yet again. "Breathe, big guy¡­ Breathe¡­ Let''s see what I can control," Ob started to say, completely ignoring Flaxy. "Ob¡­ our time is limited, please," Flax interrupted "Oh right, sorry. Um, it''s called a dragon charm. It had long descriptions. Why is our time limited?" "We must get you to your destination before the sunsets. We disappear after the sun sets. As astrological dragons, we only appear in this dimension during astrological events; once they end, we return to our home realm." "Oh, okay, so I met the super dragon clan. Dope. Y''all are friendly enough, though. Which is against everything my world says about dragons, but that''s neither here nor there." "You are not afraid of dragons despite the stories?" "No, dragons were always awesome to me. Sure, they could kill us, but so can many things that people still love, like Lions, Tigers, and Bears." Ob paused and thought Oh my to himself and chuckled a muffled laugh. Flaxy looked at him with suspicious eyes. "Dragons," he continued, "were no different but much cooler to me." "I see. I see indeed," Flaxy mused. "Call it destiny or fate; you were brought to us for a reason. The dragon charm allows you to create a soul-link with a lesser or equal-rank dragon. May I suggest you use it on my youngest? Her name is Eclipse, and she is a Solar dragon. She is hot-tempered but extremely loyal. Come on out, Eclipse." "Oh, uhh, sure? Would love to meet her.." Not sure what to expect, a small black dragon with scales matching his cloak perfectly walked out. Eclipse''s scales would shimmer red and orange with every step, while most of her scales were black. She was no bigger than a tiger and much more slender than her mother, the queen. Her eyes were golden orange, and she stared at Ob with studied intensity. "You do not fear human? You are excited to meet a dragon. Have you ever met one before?" Eclipse asked in a bitter-sounding voice. Sharp yet caring, the voice of a stern professor who cared for her students'' well-being. "Err, no, Y''all are the first I''ve ever met. And no, I''m not afraid. This is amazing." Ob responded. "Do you hail from a magic desolate realm?" Eclipse asked, "Pardon me, I am Princess Eclipse. 5th offspring of the Queen of The Northern Astrological Clan." Eclipse said with pride. "Nice to meet you, princess. I''m Ob, 5th child in my world. And yes, my world does not have magic." Ob responded, "Why do you want to be linked? Is that something you want to do, be trapped with another creature for the rest of your days?" "Not my days, yours." she corrected, "Dragons live much longer than humans. I want to see the world, Ob. It is full of beauty and wonders; I cannot do that in my other dimension. I mustn''t let this opportunity pass me by. I must take hold. You, Ob, do not fear me or my kin. This fills me with a renewed hope, a hope that I will gladly accept your soul-link." Eclipse said in response. "Be warned, Ob." Flax noted, "There are many charms in the world; the dragon charm is the most potent. Your very nature will be altered, as will my child''s. I do not offer this lightly; this is done with a level of trust you cannot comprehend. We are not pets. There is a level of power that we give up to be a soul-linked being. This bond will not turn you into an owner. It will not turn Eclipse into a slave or a pet. It will turn you two into a formidable team." "I hear you. I don''t want pets or slaves. Perhaps it would be foolish to do this without knowing anything about you or this world, but I ain''t got time for sitting and waiting. Back home, we have a saying, ''Get it before it is gone forever.'' An opportunity like this is rare, plus DRAGONS! I''m in." Ob responded. "I''m cool with this. If you are Eclipse, it''ll be nice to have a friend." Would you like to use Dragon Charm on Princess Eclipse of the North Astrological Clan? Yes. Ob gave the mental command. The link is being established. Princess Eclipse has accepted the charm. Soul-Link: Princess Eclipse of North Astrological Clan You have created a soul-link with the dragon Princess Eclipse. You have gained the Natural Power: Draconian Ally. Draconian Ally, you are an ally to dragons. Being a dragon ally can be read on your soul and aura with full force. Your soul-link has given you the power of Dragon Speak added to HUD/UI. You have learned the skill Dragon''s Breath. Dragon''s Breath skill, spell - breathe a dragon''s fire on all in your path. High-level manna cost. Zero cool down. You have learned the skill - Dragon''s Hide. Dragon''s Hide skill, body enhancement - gain the strength of dragons and resist high heat and cold temperatures. Immune to fire. Increased resistance to slashing attacks. You have gained the Nurtured Power: Slayer. Ob''s reading was interrupted by a voice entering his head. "Hello, soul-link, mate. Let us depart to where we must go before we are sucked into another dimension. It''s a long journey. Hop on." Ob''s instinct of danger and fear washed away after reading the letter and looking at Flax. "Thank you for helping me with the wraiths and getting me started. We will see you at the next astrological event," Ob said as he got onto his new friend''s back. Eclipse took flight, spreading her midnight black wings; she nodded to her mother, then took flight. Eclipse had many questions for Ob. The first thing she said was, "I''m not your servant or your pet; let''s get that straight." "No arguments here. As far as I am concerned, you are a friend and a partner. We make decisions together. Sound good?" Ob mentally responded back over the rushing wind. Ob didn''t understand everything, but he knew his new friend was shocked by his response, and she was silently grateful to have a soul-link to him. "Tell me, Ob, are dragons loved in your world?" "No, goodness no. Most people hate dragons. They are afraid of them, or they make them the bad guys in our fairytales. So many princesses are captured by a dragon, and a knight has to go save them in these stories. But I never feared them. I saw these great magical beasts full of power who are insanely misunderstood. They were always my favorite." Ob responded. "Why me? Why decide to be with me. I''m not buying the whole seeing the world lie you told me in front of your mom." "You seem different. I am not sure what makes you different. The way you looked at me when I first walked out. It was full of awe and wonder. I felt as if I knew what it was like to be ostracized for who you are. It felt as if you knew that judging before getting to know me was not a good idea. Call it madness or bravery, I do not know, but I am eager to find out." Ob chuckled, "I don''t see the difference between the two. Sometimes, you have to be a little mad before you can walk out with bravery." His demeanor got sad, "yes, I know what it is like to be treated poorly for who I am. In my own family, too. I never want to cause harm like that." "I see. This world, Ob, is not as easygoing as I fear you might believe. It is full of beauty and wonder. This much is true. It is also full of terror and death. Be warned, my.." she paused, searching for the right word, "friend, I sense that you will have to fight, and they fight till death here. The world is a savage place, but it is malleable. You have the mark of a person who sides with us, dragons. This will make many enemies. I have your back ''cause I know you have mine." Eclipse said as she descended onto a park. They had reached their destination. Chapter 3 - Learning and Passing Out Abigail stared at the dragon descending from the sky. It was black with shimmering red and orange every time it moved its wings. Abigail did not like dragons, but something about this one was beautiful. She couldn''t help but stare. She finally broke her gaze to look at Vincent. He was readying his bow, getting prepared for a fight. Her thoughts of the beautiful dragon were interrupted because she noticed the dragon had a rider; the rider''s look told her to relax. "Vin¡­ lower your weapon. It is a baby dragon. It is soul-linked, most likely to that rider that I see." Abigail whispered. "Well well well what do we ave ere." a burly voice growled behind the two. "Oi dragon¡­ yer kind ain''t welcomed ere ye best be getting on ye way." A strong aura started to rush out of the man. This man was a large, broad man; he wore combat pants with two belts worn across his torso, making an X across his muscular chest. He was brandishing a massive battleaxe. "Are you the boss of this park?" Ob responded coldly. "Are parks not open to the public? We have had a long journey and are needing rest. We''ll be gone tomorrow." "No, laddy, ye won''t. Ye''ll be goien naow. I don''t want to tell ye again." Anger was rising in the man; his patience was growing thin, and he was entering a battle stance. Ob''s eyes flashed anger, but a word from Eclipse forced him to turn around and mount his dragon. They took off without another word. After 10 minutes of flying, they found a cave beside a lake. It looked old and abandoned but covered and dry, at least to Ob. The two rested for the night, making a campfire and relaxing. The two did not speak much, as Ob was still very frustrated. Ob was not happy. He does not like bullies. He does not like being told his friend or his friend''s kind is not welcome. But what Eclipse told him was correct. He doesn''t know anything about this world. The rules, how to fight, how to use powers, how to identify anything, let alone another hostile person. It was best that they retreated and rested. Ob needed to learn. "Mark My words¡­ he''ll pay. No one is that strong to be that rude. He''ll pay¡­" Ob whispered in anger. He was just loud enough for his soul-link partner to hear. Eclipse looked up and grinned. Who was this man? she thought, why was he so fired up to defend her? They only just met? He treats me like family, better than my own kind. Whatever his reasoning is, I appreciate him and it. She nodded off asleep. Ob spent some time looking over his notifications, "15. Damn. 15. Alright, here we go. VON?" He tried to adjust them from most important to least but gave up because he didn''t know. You have gained the nurtured power: Slayer. You have displayed an ability to kill creatures well above your level. You have stood in the face of dangers higher than you and held firm. You have proven to have a resolve to never be shaken. Slayers are strong and fearless. Slayers have inherited boosts to strength, Manna, and vitality when fighting monsters at higher levels than you. Bonus reward: Slayer +1 from defeating the wraith has been applied. Slayer +10% - bonus on all attributes are given an additional 10% (passive, unlimited). Item: Spectral Cloak Bondable Item Legendary The Cloak matches the spectral aura of the wielder. This is a bondable item. Once bonded, the item will unlock a skill within the Nurtured Powerset. You have the qualifications to bond. Bond? Yes/No? Yes, Bond is being established. Spectral Cloak bonded with nurtured power: Slayer. This has produced the skill: Stalker. Nurtured Power: Slayer Skill 1: Stalker The Spectral Cloak has bonded to you and has given you the skill to hide in the shadows. When activated, the Cloak will dim the orange and red glow to hide you in the shadows. It will cover your aura and soul to anything below your level. Item: Ice Stone Keystone Item Rare Use this item to unlock a skill that is related to ice. Would you like to use it? Yes/No? Can I give it to Eclipse? Use the item on soul-link Princess Eclipse of the Astrological North Clan? Yes/No? Yes. Item: Ice Stone Keystone Item Rare Has been used on the soul-link Princess Eclipse of the Astrological North Clan. She has been given the power to breathe ice. Ice breath, harness the power of a blizzard with your breath. The stronger the user''s level, the more violent the breath. Ob didn''t know how Eclipse would react or if she could already breathe ice. He had a suspicion that the stone would have no effect if that were true. Despite barely meeting her, Ob felt a deeper soul connection than he thought he would. This was something he cherished, and he never wanted her to feel disappointed in him. Ob knew that if they would be doing this forever, he needed to take care of him and trust she would do the same. That is why he decided to give her the item. Item: Spellcaster''s Guide Consumable Item Uncommon A guide to learn about spell casting. Consume to have the knowledge enter your mind. Consume? Yes/No? Eh, no, maybe I should wait for this item. Casting spells seems essential, but I still need to figure out what that means. It''s common, anyway. Ob responded. Gift Item: Soul Home Builder If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Craftable Item ???? You have been given a gift. Soul Home Builder is a craftable item that allows you to construct a living space within your soul to let your soul-links live. The home can be customized as much as possible, and this item will be consumed after use. Would you like to construct a soul home for soul-link Princess Eclipse of the Astrological North Clan? Yes/No? Yes. Soul Home is being constructed; it will be finished in 1 day. Objective: Join a federation You have successfully made it into this dimension; it is time to pick your allegiance. Which federation will you choose? Explorer Federation, Guardian Federation, or the Maverick Federation. Explorers Federation: This is for those seeking to find new things. Beauty and Wonder. Venture into uncharted territory, create maps, find caverns, and explore forests. Whatever you want, do it as long as you seek and explore. Guardian Federation: Have a knack for protecting those who can''t defend themselves? Are you a healer, Enchantress, or a tank? Defenders Fed is the place for you. You are the first and last line of defense against the enemies. Protect at all costs. Maverick Federation: The hardest federation to get into. Any new brave soul wanting to be the sword to the guardian''s shield. You live the life of both explorers and defenders. Seek new dangers and protect those from harm. Deal heavy damage. Status: Princess Eclipse of the Astrological North Clan Dragon Bronze Level: 5 Skill: Dragon''s Breath Skill: Empty Skill: Empty Ability: Solar Eclipse Harness the power of a solar eclipse. Those that are looking at you during this time will be temporarily blinded. Act as a torch in a dark place. Ability: Training Partner You have accepted a soul-link; you and your connection can now spar and train without damaging one another. Bestow knowledge through a soul connection, feel what they feel, understand what they are thinking, and communicate. Status: Ob Jones. Race: human subset, earthling. Level 1: Normal. Natural Power - Draconian Ally - Level 1 Skill: Dragon''s Breath - Level 1 Skill: Dragon''s Hide - Level 1 Nurtured Power - Slayer - Level 1 Skill: Stalker - Level 1 Skill: Empty Federation Power - Undecided Skill: Empty Skill: Empty Ability: Dimension Skipper has evolved to Way of the Dragon You have woken up in a different dimension; your new first dimension was one that was ruled by dragons. You have created a soul-link with a particularly powerful dragon race, thus evolving your ability. The Way of the Dragon allows the ability to live in multiple dimensions. Flight and teleportation are now available to learn. Magical senses and manna pools have increased significantly. ????, ????, and ???? Ability: Earthling has evolved to Aura Manipulation You have created a soul-link with a particularly powerful dragon race, thus evolving your ability. Aura Manipulation increases UI, allowing the user to see how difficult it would be to manipulate an aura. Users can now learn how to control aura. Users can now see other''s souls. Users can now learn how to control souls. Aura Manipulation Level 1. Current level allows internal aura manipulation. Soul Manipulation Level 1. Current level allows internal soul manipulation. Warning: soul and aura manipulation are extremely hard to level up. A dangerous craft, proceed with caution. Lest things turn poorly. Progress to Celestine 0%. Status: Hidden Ability Unlocked Ability: Absolute Resolve You have swallowed your fear to hold steady in the face of grave dangers. You are now immune to fear aura attacks of those from a maximum of one level higher. Fear Aura attacks from at least two levels higher do reduced damage. You have gained bonuses to your soul and aura defenses. Fear Spells from your level or lower result in boone to strength. Progress to Celestine? What is a Celestine? What does that even mean? Ob thought, am I becoming less human? How is that even possible? What is going to happen to me when I get to that point? How am I even progressing to Celestine? My guy, there is so much new stuff. I have so much training to do. So much about this world that makes zero sense. Maybe Eclipse can help me, and we can train together, maybe she can answer some of my questions. Before we go to any federation, it will be important to learn more. Status: VON Level up VON is now level 3. VON has upgraded. VON can now automatically read anyone''s stats through the UI. Simply command VON to give a breakdown of the levels, powers, and individual stats of the one you want. VON can now speak notification. Finally, Ob had finished all the notifications. He was learning, beginning to understand this world, and if he was honest with himself¡­ he loved it. He was gaining power; he seemed to be very strong. That thrilled him to the core. Finally, Finally, he could do something about all those who mistreat him. Who mistreats his friends. He desperately wanted to know why and how he was brought here; that could wait. He had more learning to do. Ob. Passed out.
As Abigail whispered to Vincent, he heard giant, gruff footsteps walking this way. Vincent could recognize those steps from anywhere. Moris, he thought to himself. I hate this dude. Moris was a brute, a big guy full of power and not a bit of compassion in his large body. Moris was not a human, he actually was a werewolf, an Alpha Werewolf, to be exact. They are known to be hotheads in their human form; the second they turn into their Alpha form, they are savages. They attack anything that they decide is their enemy. It was well known that Moris hated dragons. Vincent was surprised to hear that the man had defended the dragon; he was impressed. He had never heard of a soul-link, so he would have to ask his genius companion when the tension had died. There was something about that man, though. To be a Normal tier and not be afraid of a Gold tier was crazy, no.. unheard of. Vincent was confident; this was the one to be on their team, and they needed to follow him. "Oi, hunter laddy. Vincent ain''t it." Moris said to him "ye ever seen a dragon like that before?" "Umm, no.." Vincent replied, shocked that Moris knew his name. "Hmm," Moris said, scratching his full and messy beard, "I best not be seein'' that laddy again. How dare a normal tier talk to me like that? He must be crazy. But I tell ye, that dragon is trouble. All dragons are trouble¡­ where they come from, I don''t know, but I aim to find out. We got to kill the whole lot of ''em." "You mean to kill all dragons?" Abigail said accidentally, her shock letting the words out without her noticing. "Ye some kind uh dragon lova, missy?" Morris said, raising an eyebrow "No!" Abigail said quickly, "I am just impressed; dragons are tough buggers to kill." Moris bellowed a deep, shaking laugh. "I guess yer right there, missy! But so am I!" He continued laughing, doubled over. "Thank ye missy, that is exactly what I needed. Take care, ye two. Be sure to report if ye see any other dragons, ye ear?" The two simply nodded and watched him stomp off. They waited till he was well out of earshot. "I think we should follow those two," Vincent said first. "Wait, you too?" Abigail asked. "I thought I was going to have to convince you. Waiiit" Eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to?" Vincent chuckled, "We are a great pair, eh? The man. He stood up to that Pseudo without blinking an eye. That is ballsy. I''m impressed. I think he would be a great addition to our party. Why do you? Let me guess¡­" "The dragon," they said at the same time. Abigail blushed. She thought he must be feeling the same. He must. "Abs?" Vincent said quietly. "I have something I have to tell you. And we should start heading following the trail." Abigail''s heart skipped a beat. She couldn''t speak; she just nodded, and they strode towards Ob. They both were walking in awkward silence until she finally said, "What is it that you need to tell me, Vin?" Vincent stopped. Looked her in the eyes and simply said, "Us." "Us?" Abigail''s voice barely a whisper now. "Look, that dude was handsome, and I know magic makes us all good-looking, but he was something different. Before we meet him, he bats his eyes at you because you are just as attractive¡­" He drew in a deep breath. "Abigail, I like you a lot. I have for quite some time, and I don''t want to tell you in case things go poorly one way or another. If you don''t feel the same, I get it." Before she could reply, he turned and continued walking. "Don''t cry, don''t throw up, don''t cry, don''t throw up." He told himself. Abigail stood there in shock for a second. This was it. It was finally the moment she had longed for the best person she could ever think of to confess his feelings. As she got out of shock, she noticed he was several paces ahead of him. Racing after him, she simply grabbed his hand, interlocked her fingers, and kissed him on the cheek. Whispered in his ear, "Bout damn time, hunter." The two of them were now grinning ear to ear, holding each other''s hands; for the first time, they were a party and more than friends. Chapter 4 - Im No Homewrecker Eclipse woke up with a new skill. She could feel the power brewing inside of her. She didn''t use a stone or anything to get this skill. She did not level up. What happened? Confused, she looked over at Ob, who was sound asleep. Did he give me an item to get a new skill? she thought to herself. Why in the god''s realms would he do such a thing? What exactly does he plan to do? Does he believe that this will grant him ownership of my soul? He should think again. "Nah," a voice entered her head, "I already told ya, I ain''t about that ownership crap. You and I are partners. I gave you an ice stone. It was classified as rare, but I figured it could be helpful for you more than me." "I apologize. It is highly unusual to meet a human who is so.." she said, picking her next words carefully, "trusting." Ob chuckled. "Can''t say I''ve ever been called that before, but hey, first time for everything. I have some questions for you now that we''re both awake. How do I use my powers?" "I am not the one who should be teaching you. I am not like you; you are a physical being with magic potential. I am a magical being with physical potential. In that, we are opposites. How I use magic is just being me. I imagine that you, Ob, must use your instincts to help you understand your powers. Did you get any?" Eclipse replied. Stirring to sit up and get closer to him in the cave. This gesture surprised him, but he did not comment on it. "Yes, I did. I got my natural powerset and nurtured power." "I see. To beings who are like you, non-magical beings, we call you Nomags in my dimension. It is, as I just said. To beings who are like that, however, the powers that they grow and develop are conduits to use magic; it''s based on who and what they are. We dragons do not have powers because we are governed by our kind; there is only so much we can do as dragons. But what we can do other magical beings cannot, like Nymphs or Mermaids. It is about balance, Ob. This is why Nomags are restricted to two powers, but over the millennia, they have developed a way to grant one more power based on which allegiance you choose. ¡°Are your powers Draconian Ally and Slayer? It appears your encounters before entering your body and after with my mother have given you these powers. They seem to fit your nature." "They also compliment each other and you. It appears you have heavily influenced my ability and power set. I''m quite satisfied." Ob said proudly "Yes, it does appear that way. I have gained an ability that will allow both of us to spar and grow. This is quite nice. I am content with this. Learning how you battle as you develop your style will be good. Hmmm," She stopped and looked out the cavern entrance. "Yeah, I feel ''em too. They were at the park. I wonder what they want," Ob replied, sensing people walking in their direction. He wasn''t sure how he felt them. To Ob, the sensation was like when he was standing in a room listening to music but could feel someone''s eyes on him. It was creepy and weird, "Is this what that spider superhero sense is like?" He could feel Eclipse prepare for a fight. He put a calming hand on her snout. Smoke was now flowing out, surely an intimidation tactic. "We come in peace. We are simply here to talk," a smooth male voice said in a half yell. "You were at the park. Why are you here?" Growled Eclipse. "Easssy now, princess, let''s hear them out. They appear to know of your power; you scare them. Good." Ob said to his companion. "We came to talk for two reasons, but both lead us to you." The female voice said. "Identify us. We are no harm to you." Status: Abigail Montall Race: Elf Level 10: Bronze tier Natural Power: Enchantress Skill: Toxic Curse Skill: Purge Nurtured Power: Healer Skill: Healing Pulse Skill: Holy Health Federation Power: Guardian Skill: Healing Waters This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Skill: Body Shield "Abigail, huh," Ob thought to himself & Eclipse by proxy. "So that''s what Elfs look like." Abigail was a beautiful Elf. As most Elves were. However, Abigail was one of those who were even more so good-looking. She was tall, standing nearly 6 feet, and toned like an Olympic athlete. She had olive skin with long white hair but in a practical braid, with a slight golden leaf tiara on top; the braid nearly touched her mid-back. Her features were soft and delicate. Abigail had a couple freckles on her cheek. Her eyes were dark forest green. They shifted focus between Ob and the dragon. They were sharp; if anything toughened her up, it was her eyes; they looked like she was not one to be messed with. She wore a long robe that was tied closed by a belt. Under her robe, she wore a green tunic that matched her eyes. With elvish words marking the material, magically infused, Ob guessed. "Are you attracted to her?" Eclipse responded to his comment about the elf. She felt as if it was said in a different tone. "Nah, she''s not really my type. And it''s clear that she is very into this man. I''m no homewrecker," Ob said ¡°Homewrecker, what does destroying homes have to do with anything?" Eclipsed asked. "Oh right, different vernacular; it basically means I come into a relationship and destroy it for my own taking." "People do that in your world?" "Oh yeah¡­ even family. But that''s neither here nor there¡­ I do have eyes, though; she is stunning." Eclipse gave a mental agreement with Ob''s sentiment. Status: Vincent von Smitt Race: Human Level 8: Bronze tier Nurtured Power: Deadshot Skill: Arrow Conjuration Skill: Steady Hands Natural Power: Hunter Skill: Marksman Skill: Shadow Sneak Federation Power: Explorer Skill: Spinter Skill: Stealth "See," Abigail said, "we mean you no harm. We simply want to talk." "Okay, nothing funny, though; it''ll get ugly real quick, and you won''t win," Ob replied. Sharp and cold. "You are not from here. Most humans do not speak like you. Where are you from?" Abigail asked. Abigail took in the man in front of her. Vincent was right; he was extremely handsome. Chocolate brown skin with a chiseled jawline and a symmetrical face. He had a little stubble, but she absently wondered how he looked clean-shaven. His eyes were the most interesting; his irises, or what should have been his irises, were orange and red but not bloodshot. Something straight from nature, like an eclipse. The image of a solar eclipse crossed her mind as she thought the word. His irises shimmered red and orange, with his pupils being black like the moon covering the sun. They were breathtaking. "As you read, I am Abigail Montall; this is my em." She paused to think of the right word to call Vincent, "partner, and party member Vincent von Smitt. What are your names?" "Right, I''m Ob Jones. This is Eclipse. I''m uh from a very distant land," Ob lied while also. Telling Eclipse to keep his secret between them for now mentally: "I come from a small village, where magic is desolate. I was given the gift of magic and traveled here." "And in your travels, you met a dragon and found a dragon charm?" Abigail questioned skeptically. "I''m lucky." Ob shrugged, "I know dragons are not loved here, but I am not sure why?" "For one part, it is because of soul-links gone poor," Abigail said wearily. "As you know, soul-links alter nature but not conditions of the soul. If a creature is linked with something with an evil condition, that creature will inherit that condition. This happened with a powerful demi-god. The soul-link to a hydra. gods know how they found a Hydra charm. No one has ever heard of something so rare. The hydra and the demi-god wreaked havoc on everyone and everything. It took the gods'' intervention to put an end to it. This happened on a lesser scale with several elemental dragons. Dragons have hurt people, and people are afraid of that fact. Yet here you are, soul-linked to quite possibly the most beautiful dragon I have ever seen, acting as if you have no care in the world. Are dragons common in your small area?" "No. Remember, magically desolate. Dragons are magical beings. There is no way they would survive." Ob responded, being proud to know a fact, even if it was a lie. "Your power makes you a target," Vincent finally said. "People don''t take well to Draconians." "I don''t take well to bullies. So it''s even," Ob retorted "That''s part of the reason why we''re here. You have the balls to stand up to Moris like that. He was not happy, especially not seeing you''re a Normy." Vincent continued, "You see, Abs and I are in need of some power and, well, stupidity or courage, whatever you want to call it. You''re undecided about a federation; I think you should go for Maverick. You have the resolve. You''ll need to train first, though that test is a doozy." "Abs? Are you two a fresh couple? Both of you hesitated when you said each other''s name. Abigail paused as if wondering what to label y''all." Ob asked, "Rather than convince me to join your party or whatever, figure out your hearts first. Love is the best!" "Huh?" The two said, both blushing. "What are you talking about? Did you not just hear what Vincent said?!" Abigail asked incredulously. "I heard him loud and clear, but the uncertainty of your new love is distracting. I''ll consider your proposal to join your party. I''ll work with you until I pick a federation; then, we shall see if I fit fully into your party. On one final condition." "If you mention our love life... "Vincent said in a warning tone. Ob chuckled, "No, no," with a massive grin on his face. "Teach me how to use my powers. I''m completely at a loss." Abigail and Vincent shared a look. How could someone live in this world and never have heard of magic, let alone powers? Could he really be the first person from his tribe with magic potential? Something seemed wrong, but they needed more time to press the issue. Everyone has secrets, Abigail thought to herself. Chapter 5 - Its NOT All About Power "Well then. Let us start with the basics." Abigail began her lecture, "There are 6 level tiers Normal, which are you; Bronze, us, Eclipse, Silver, Gold, Adamantium; and lastly, Ancient." "Got it," Ob responded. "In order to reach ancient level, you need to amass 21,000,000 total experience points. Which is a total of 7,000,000 per power, per skill." "What the damn hell! That''s a lot. Damn." Ob exclaimed. "It is. This is why there are so few ancient tiers. Some take centuries to reach Adamantium. Normal tier ends at level 2, 0 exp is needed to reach it. Everyone without a full magic powerset is considered normal. Bronze tier ends at level 24. 30k exp is needed to complete Bronze.Silver tier ends at level 59. 100k exp is needed to complete Silver. Gold tier ends at level 92. 430k exp is needed to complete Gold. The adamantium tier ends at level 100. 6.4m exp is needed to complete Adamantium. Ancient tier never ends. The exp never stops. There is no higher level barring gods, demi-gods, or cosmic beings." Abigail paused to look up to see Ob staring at her intently. He was paying full attention and had no questions so far. She must admit, she was impressed. Her boyfriend, on the other hand¡­ was passed out snoring in the corner next to the fire. "So realistically, it''s 90k exp for Bronze. 300k exp for Silver, 1.29m exp for Gold, 19.3m exp for Adamantium. I understand. That''s a massive jump between Gold and Adamantium." Ob said. "Exactly. The tricky part about tiers is they do not tell the whole story. You could be a Silver with only one skill in Gold. Or you could be a Silver with all your skills in Silver. This is what makes being a crusader so fun. You choose your path, how you train, how you grow. You can completely ignore a power if you want or train them all evenly." she continued, excitement building in her tone. "Can you be an ancient without having each power maxed out?" Ob questioned. "No, you cannot. This is what makes it so hard to reach ancient tier. They have obtained the full 21m exp. To add to your statement, Adamantium tier is 92% of the exp pool." Abigail stated. "Ah yes, that is a giant gap." Ob responded, "So with things like identify, it will only show levels, not exp, right?" "Correct," Abigail said, "you''ve picked this up really quickly." "Yeah," Ob knew the reason why was because this reminded him of video games that he used to play back on Earth. The leveling system all but confirmed that someone from his dimension had, in fact, landed here and brought back things to his world. He wasn''t sure how his new teacher friend would react to knowing he was not from this dimension and could understand what she was saying because of a false reality created based on this dimension. So there is a way back home. I am not sure I want to be home. But there is a way home. Ob thought to himself. How do you train or gain experience? "It depends on your powerset and skills. For me, I get experience every time I successfully heal or defend myself or someone else. Making my experience growth painfully slow if I am not in a party or working in a healing temple. Which is very boring. My skill, Toxic Curse, will only grow if I deal with anything toxic. This is why it is my lowest skill level, only level 5, while my other levels are 15." "That must be frustrating. If there is a skill-based on movement, the more you do that movement, the more it levels up? It is not all fighting monsters and getting power." "No, it is NOT all about power. It is about finding the pathway that is best for your magical power set and doing that. Having a party to help you can be fun, but you can also do it alone. Not sure why anyone would want to." Ob noticed a spark in her dark green eyes. She loved being out in the world; she loved being able to explore new things. "I understand. Is that how the two of you got connected? Is there some party creation place or something?" Abigail made a sound that sounded like rustling leaves on a warm autumn day; Ob really enjoyed that sound. He assumed it was her laughter, "No, Vin and I have been friends for our whole lives. Our tribes are really close to each other, and we trade with each other. We decided that we wanted to form our own crusader party, but the minimum is three. We also require some power. I cannot attack with my powerset; I can just defend. Vin is strong but not a damage dealer, more like a powerful scout." "Ah, I see; that''s why he said I should go to be a Maverick?" "Yes and no, you are strong, Ob, very strong; your magical potential is insane. It is all over your aura, the aura of someone who is not to be messed with. Like a venomous snake, it will leave you alone if you leave it alone but provoked. It is deadly." Abigail stared at Ob for a long time. It was as if she was trying to read Ob''s story through his eyes, but she could not. Ob''s heart skipped a beat. I guess I am attracted to her... This could be a problem. Ob thought. "Oh," he said shyly, "em thanks¡­ I appreciate it," giving her a genuine kind smile. "Yes. What other questions do you have?" Abigail turned her gaze away, hiding a blush. "What are attributes? I see them in my vision, and I don''t know what they do." "You see them? That is not something you should be able to see. These are things that people have an innate sense of but should not see them. Can you describe what you see?" Abigail asked quizzically. "I believe I can answer that question for you, Abigail." Eclipse spoke into the minds of Abigail and Ob, "Ob possesses an ability that allows him to view the world differently; this appears as he calls it a heads-up display and user interface. They show him his attributes, stats, vitality, and manna as they are depleting in real-time, without the innate sense you or I do. This is how he sees them." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Yeah, what the princess said." Ob echoed. "That is the second time you have referred to her as a princess. Am I missing something?" Abigail asked. "Yes, but now is not the time," Eclipse said while glaring at Ob. "Ahh, my bad." "Hmm, Eclipse, do you see how he sees being his soul-link? What is that ability called?" Abigail asked. "I do. That is privileged information, I am afraid. We cannot tell you all of our secrets now, can we?" Eclipse replied. "No, I suppose not. Attributes are Stamina, Vitality, Manna, Speed, and Strength. Stamina determines how long you can run without getting tired, which is helpful in battles if you run around a lot like Vin. There is no stat for Stamina. It is inherent. You can feel it within yourself. Vitality, well, is your life force; if that hits zero, you die. It determines how resistant you are to attacks and how resilient you are. You could equate it to health, but that is a massive understatement of all that it does. The higher your vitality, the harder it is for you to be damaged by something in your tier. Manna is your pool for magic; depending on your power set and abilities, it can recharge over time at various speeds. The higher level you are, the faster it restores, the bigger your pool is. I have been told there are ways to learn to recharge it more quickly, but I have yet to come across that. Strength is how much damage you deal with; the higher your strength, the more damage. Speed is how fast you move, react, and perceive. The higher the speed stat, the faster you are. Typically, you gain an option to add to an attribute per level and per skill. Every tier up, you receive an additional 15 attribute coins to use on whatever you''d like. There are items, albeit very rare, that you could use to substantially boost your attributes. Sometimes, our aura and soul will slowly internally boost a quality if you have a particular affinity to any of those, but that is also rare. I have heard that there are high tiers who can read the attributes of their opponents. But I believe those are just stories to tell young crusaders to be careful. Unless you are in a trusted party, you should keep your attributes to yourself, especially your vitality." Abigail finished her long spiel. "Hmmm, okay, I see. I see. Can I ask you a potentially personal question?" Ob asked. "You can, but do not be disappointed if I do not answer." She replied "Fair enough, you mentioned that you do not have any attacking skills; how is that possible? How are you meant to survive in this world without any attacking skills?" "That is a great question. I have to be a supporter, and I need a party. That is just the way it is." She replied softly. "Hmmm, I think you might be using them wrong." Abigail stiffened, and her aura started to spike in anger. This woke Vincent up. "What!?" If looks could kill, Abigail''s look towards Ob probably would have killed him¡­. Again. "How dare you. You dare ask all these questions, then say I am misusing my powerset. The powers that I have had for 3 years!" Ob stays perfectly calm, letting the anger wash over him. He showed no fear, no remorse, nothing. Vincent noted this. Did he say that on purpose to see her angry? Was this a test? Ob was a definite normy, a significantly removed Normy, but he was measured. He did everything with a purpose; at least, that is the vibe that Vincent got. Vincent was a skilled hunter. This meant that he could get a read on most creatures: humans, elves, you name it. He could read their body language. Ob dripped with confidence and power. Ob was different. Rivaling his girlfriend''s intelligence and a dragon''s emotional control, he was a force not to be trifled with. Vincent just watched; he did not ready for a fight. He had a feeling that this, in fact, was a test. "Yes" Is all Ob said. Abigail sprinted towards Ob in a flash, faster than Ob could even perceive the movement, and slammed him into the ground by the neck. Ob could feel blood trickling out of his head. Eclipse looked on with smoke starting to bellow out of her nostrils. Ob told her to wait; he had a plan. "Do you feel that? Do you feel that pain? I may not have magical powers that do damage, but I still do." Abigail said, squeezing his neck through gritted teeth while talking to him. "Here is another lesson: Tiers matter at the power level. Although you may be 6 levels lower than Vincent," she said, still choking Ob, "because he is in the Bronze tier, his damage does more, and you would do less." Ob looked at Abigail with raised eyebrows and a smirk. Status: You have been cursed. Toxins have entered your manna pool. You are slowly losing health and manna. As the toxins spread, they will deal more damage over time. "Great, could you let go of my neck and heal me now, please¡­" Abigail shook her head, clearing the anger. What just happened? Why had she just snapped at Ob? Why didn''t the dragon attack her? Why did he say great? Abigail shook those questions and saw that Ob was turning a sickly purple color. She gasped and chanted a quick spell in Elvish''s tongue. Status: You are being healed. Toxins are leaving your manna stream. "Thank you for that," Ob said, standing up and shaking off the dust on his tunic. "What just happened?" Abigail asked nervously "Congratulations, you just learned how to do damage with your skills," Ob said, smirking, walking over to Eclipse. Patting her on the snout. Eclipse kept daggers on Abigail but leaned into Ob. "That was very interesting," Vincent said, emerging from the shadows. "Ob, how did you know that she could do that?" "Her skill is literally called Toxic Curse," Ob responded. "I couldn''t think of a more attack-sounding name than anything. Abigail, you''re sweet, but wear your emotions on your sleeve. I could tell as soon as you said Toxic Curse that something was pissing you off." "You noticed that too," Vincent said. Ob walked over to Abigail and took her hands in a friendly shake. "Thanks for healing me; not sure how I would have shaken that curse off. It was potent. Thank you for teaching me all of that. It really means a lot. Listen, I think we should put an end to the lessons and let tempers cool off. Plus, I am starving!! I think I saw a small town about a 2-minute walk that way. I''ll go grab some food and stuff. I think we''ll be in this cave for some time. I have a lot of training to do." Ob was already heading out the entrance without waiting for a reply from the other two, "Eclipse, you coming?" The two of them walked out together. "Well," Vincent said, walking over to Abigail. Kissing her on the cheek, "That was fun. I think we need to talk about our new friend before he gets back. His bond with his dragon is growing stronger every minute." "Yes," she said, kissing him back, "he is a swift learner and highly perceptive. There is something about him that is off, but my instincts are not telling me of danger, even when I attack him. He did not strike back. What a strange man. Chapter 6 - Domineering and Seductive "Why did you let her attack you?" Eclipse asked "Cause she needed to see that she was getting in her own way. It was going to do no good for me to simply say it. She would have denied it immediately," Ob replied. "It''s clear she has a hard time keepin her emotions in check, which is quite interesting for the heir to her kingdom. But I suppose she is running from that." "How do you know that she is royalty?" Eclipse asked again. "She talks like you, all prim and proper, the way she moves, how she is dressed, it wreaks of royalty," Ob said. Eclipse shot daggers at her soul-link partner as a warning to tread lightly. "Hey, I have no issue with royalty. It is just not my thing. I grew up in a rural area; we grew our own food, for heaven''s sake. It''s not that we didn''t have money; it''s that we acted like we didn''t. Then all the pricks from the fancy private schools looking down their noses at us." Ob paused, noticing he was getting worked up. Took a deep breath and said, "I just don''t appreciate when people act like they''re hot stuff over things they did not do themselves." "Hold firm to those principles because you already have a lot of gold. More than most people earn in two years'' wages." Eclipse stated, "Crusaders are wealthy, very wealthy, and that''s rewards from missions they accept. It appears you have something in your powerset that gives you bonus rewards during things. This is rare; soon, you will see what it is like to be royalty. Then I want to see how many of those faces you look down on." She ended flatly. "I get it. I shouldn''t judge. I also should not have insulted you; for that, I am sorry." Ob said, recognizing the offended tone in his partner''s voice. Eclipse didn''t say anything, just kept walking. Arrogance, she thought. The two entered the village just as the sun set; a few food stalls were open with very little food left. "Sorry, the pickings are slim." The vendor said. "What can I get yew two?" He started eyeing up the dragon slowly, "Don''t think I have enough for that one there, but enough for two or three of yous," he said, gesturing to Ob. "Oh, but that''s too bad," a sinister-sounding voice said, appearing out of the shadows. She was tall with leathery light purple skin, and black horns mixed with her black hair stood atop her head. She had a pair of giant bat wings protruding from her back. She walked and talked with Sultry, clearly trying to seduce the vendor. "My friends and I just got back to town and are sooo hungry. You''re going to feed your loyal customer second to this¡­ "she looked Ob up and down "...Draconian¡­" "I''m sorry, friend, but she is right. Loyalty comes first. I''ll have to serve her first, and then you can get what''s left if there is anything." The vendor said, sounding slightly off. "Or come back tomorrow, and I''ll get you right." As the vendor turned to gaze at that thing, Ob asked him one more thing. "Know anywhere where I can buy produce and meat?" "Why do you care, Draconian? It is time for you to go." The lady said. "Listen, I was not talking to you. Unless you have anything useful to say to me, you can beat it." Ob said, annoyance setting in. Eclipse shook her head and told Ob to be prepared for a fight. The woman raised an eyebrow, then laughed. Her laugh was like nails on a chalkboard. "You dare speak to me like this, Normy? I am a Bronze level Crusader, leader of my Crusader party, The Dark Wings," She said with her voice raising an octave. "I ought to kill you where you stand. All your powers are level 1 anyway. This would not be much harder than stepping on an ant." She laughed again. "What is with this area! It''s like we strolled into asshole central! That first dude was hot garbage, treating my friend like nothing. Then there is you, tryna be all sexual and seductive, which is not working, by the way, so you can chill with your weird aura. WHILE ALSO BEING A GARBAGE BEING. HOW?!" Ob said out loud, thoroughly annoyed, "You suck." He said, starting to turn in the other direction, "we''ll find something else." "Mmm, not so fast, sweetheart," The seductress said. "You don''t get to say that and walk away free of charge." "I''m doing it now, ain''t I," he said, walking away and waving a hand in the air. Suddenly, the air got thick, and a pervasive aura engulfed Eclipse and Ob. The aura was domineering and seducing, willing its target to bend to every order it gave. It was trying to make Ob fear them and regret the moment he opened his big dumb mouth. "I said you can''t go without some sort of repercussion," the seductress said. "What is your name, fool." "Why not just identify me," Ob said through gritted teeth, pretending to be hidden in fear until the right moment to attack. The seductress chuckled, "Silly boy, I can only identify you with consent, and I doubt that you''ll give me consent now, but when I am done with you, you will." "Good to know. Then Nah, I''m good. You don''t get to know." She was now inches away from his face. Her mouth grinned the smile of a predator that caught its prey and was ready to eat it. Her mouth was full of razor-sharp teeth dripping with purple venom. "I am going to enjoy this". As she stalked closer, Ob felt heat rising from his belly; his instincts were screaming for him to wait a little longer, and he gave the same mental command to Eclipse. The stalker opened her mouth to bite on the neck of Ob.
Abigail held her boyfriend''s hand, fingers interlocked; she absently squeezed it as she thought. How had Ob gotten the best of her? What caused the attack to do damage when all the other times it did not? Could she do it again? Who was this man? Abigail was always taught how to keep her emotions in check; this was the way of elves, after all. They were known to be well-educated, proper, and even-tempered. What she displayed was unbecoming of an Elf. She felt that shame radiate through her entire being. "My father would be very disappointed in me," She stated. "We keep telling them tribe, but we come from vast kingdoms. As the heir to the throne, I have to know better; I have to be better." "Your father is not here." Vincent replied, "he sent you to gain new experiences to be a crusader like he was. Losing your temper in this space is the best thing to happen. You found out that you can be pushed AND that you can attack. That''s awesome, Abs!! I bet there is even more to your powers! "You are sweet. I thank you for your words; they are kind and reassuring," she replied, kissing him. "What do we do with Ob? He is smart and cunning. I want to know what makes him tick. I want to know more about this tribe and how it can be magically desolate in this world. Magic reigns supreme?" Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "There''s a lot of worlds out there, Abs," Vincent replied calmly. "Okay, so maybe there is. Is this someone we want in our party? What? Because he stood up to an alpha wolf, he likely does not even know what an alpha werewolf is?" "It is not just that, Abigail, and you know it. What is really bothering you about him?" "I do not know Vin, but there is something about him that I am not comfortable with. My instincts tell me things are safe, but my mind is not. I have never experienced such tribulation in my senses before." "Mmm," He replied thoughtfully. "Maybe we should be more cautious with him, after all. I wanted to see him; you wanted to see the dragon." "This is true. About that, did you notice how she gets a little more upset every time he calls her princess? Do you think that he is mocking her? Do you think he has a thing against royalty?" "I think that she is a princess. Dragons have monarchies, too. We do need to find out what species of dragon she is because I have never seen a dragon that beautiful or felt the power of a dragon such as that but was so young." Vincent commented, "I bet when Eclipse hits Adamantium, it will rival that hydra from your story. Here''s to hoping her soul-link isn''t made with power." "I agree, which brings me back to my original question. What do we do with Ob? I think we have the power to mold him into something good. However, something tells me he has a soul of gold, a very good man trying to make it in this evil world. Perhaps that is what is bothering me because he is a Draconian, which goes against their nature or the reported nature of Dracionians. Those are rare; to be considered a true Draconian, they must be neutral inherently." "How do you mean? If that is the case, why does the world hate them? Also, what is a soul-link?" "Dragons are unique amongst all magical creatures. They can be caught and treated poorly. They can be manipulated to do things in order for the dragon to keep their kin and offspring safe." Abigail began to answer "Dragon eggs..." "Exactly. You, of all people, know how valuable a dragon egg is. Some take centuries to hatch, and most take decades. A newborn dragon is completely and totally neutral; they have no biases. They are moldable like clay. So when a newborn dragon is hatched and taken, it can be morphed into whatever its captor wants it to be." "Okay, so a Draconian must display a similar nature or be neutral?" "Yes. However, you have seen Ob. He is not neutral; he is good. He stands up for those who are being treated poorly. Someone evil does not do that. Someone neutral would not be upset about Moris telling him to leave; he would just have left. This is what is interesting about his companion. To find a dragon charm is impressive in its own regard. To find a rare dragon such as Eclipse so young makes this encounter nearly impossible. You have a moldable newborn with a Draconian Ally. The mother dragon must have sensed his aura of being a Draconian before offering the soul-link because there is no way that would happen in the wild. A soul-link is essentially a lifelong bond. The charm connects the souls of two beings; this bond is deep. The two must have just linked because their connection is growing exponentially. Which means they linked shortly after Ob received or found the dragon charm. Something is going on with Ob that he is not telling us. Once again, what do we do with him? He is hiding some big secrets, and his story has significant gaps. Is this the type of person we want to be partied with?" Abigail finished her long explanation, looking pleadingly into her partner''s eyes, seeking the answer to a question she really desired the answer to. "Better with him than against him. I suggest we train with him and do what it takes to get him to join our party. He and Eclipse are powerful, even if he is a level 1. She is level 5 and holds very high potential. His potential," Vincent paused to stare into the campfire. "My grandpaw used to tell stories of beings with insane potential. Where they appear, it is clear that they are strong, their aura, their soul, their powers. It is as if they were born as magical and physical beings, not split 50/50 but fully 100/100. There is a name for it, but I forgot what it was called, something with a C." The world went dark and cold. A mist filled the cave, and there was an aura that seemed familiar but not something he should have been able to understand. "Celestine," A divine voice said, "Oscar -Blane Jones is indeed a celestine. Or at least he is progressing towards that." The two of them looked up to see a being transparent and blue, with a form roughly fading in and out. "Grandma¡­" Vincent stated in disbelief, "Why, how are you here?" "Hello, dear boy. My time is limited as I am making my final pass; I wanted to say goodbye. I overheard your conversation. The goddess of death allowed me to say one thing before I moved on." Vincent''s grandmother explained, "Shh, don''t speak. Just listen. Your path is your path, and I am not here to provide additional knowledge or advice. You have made all of us extremely proud; our tribe and our people have seen the remarkable young man you have become carry on the gift of our ancestors. You have been chosen by our ancestral tribe to wield this; take it and be the best hunter in this generation. I love you; I will see you again." She touched his hand, bestowing the gift, and just like that, she was gone.
"NOW!" Ob shouted as flames erupted from his mouth, entering the mouth of his attacker. As the fire entered her insides, Eclipse released a bright white fire breath attack to coat her outside. Eclipse was closer level to this woman, so her damage on the outside would be formidable. Eclipse was also strong, very strong; she could easily outpace anyone or anything at least 10 levels higher than her within her tier. Her white fire breath was a unique feature of being a solar dragon. Each solar dragon is born with the energy of a star. Stars are known to have various heat signatures in multiple colors. White is the hottest a flame can be. Then blue, then yellow, then orange-red. Eclipse has the power of a white star she was born with, and her attacks can do maximum damage. When Ob attacked, he realized two things. 1 - He had finally learned and loved how to harness his powers. The energy powering into his body and being released was a huge rush. Secondly, the creature was using some kind of fear to impact him. His strength had been gaining significant bonuses the more she used it. He had to act like it was working so she would keep using it and he could get strong enough to do some significant damage. There it lay on the ground, burnt to a crisp, motionless, dead. Ob has obtained his first confirmed kill. "I-i just¡­ killed her." Ob stammered shock setting in. "Yes, fire tends to do that to¡­ kill." Eclipse responded with zero remorse, "Oh. Have you never killed anything before? Or seen anything die?" "I have nothing so human or sentient like insects or bugs. I have seen small animal creatures get taken or dead. This through her eyes, the look in her eyes, as she realized she was dying. It was creepy." Ob couldn''t shake the scared look that creature had displayed; it was haunting worse than the wraiths. "That is going to give me nightmares, for sure." "All things considered, good job. Consolidate our spoils later; let''s find some food and return to the cave. I''m pretty sure that Succubus said they were a team. I don''t want them to find us; you cannot do another attack like that. Plus, the smell of burnt Succubus is really gross." Eclipse said as she was striding side by side with her new partner. They had completed their first kill together as a team, and it went flawlessly. Too flawlessly. Why were their tactics so on point? How could they take out something so many levels higher than them without too much cause? Ob. If you are going to have power rivaling a god, I have to keep you alive. This can be a forever link, how exciting Eclipse thought to herself. She may have resisted it initially, but she was really starting to like Ob and cared for him deeper and deeper as each moment passed. "Eclipse¡­" Ob said, sounding very off, interrupting her thoughts, "I don''t feel good. Eclipse. My head is pounding; I feel nauseous, and like I am about to pass out." "It''s your manna; it must be very low. I think you may be progressing to bronze tier as well; let''s get you back to the cavern; we''ll send the others to get us some food and water," Eclipse responded, sounding concerned for her partner. Ob muttered something slightly intangible and then saw black. Ob, once again, passed out. Chapter 7 - Secrets Ob saw a young man; the young man was staring at him intensely. It looked like the young man was speaking, but Ob heard nothing. Ob walked closer, and the words were finally audible. ¡°You¡¯re a disgrace. I can¡¯t believe Mom and Dad ever adopted you. You¡¯re trash and always have been.¡± The young man told him. Ob tried to respond, but before he could, another voice spoke up from behind him. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so mad at me, my guy. YOU cheated off me, YOU stole the car, YOU got in the accident. I ain¡¯t do none of that. The only thing I¡¯m guilty of is being the only family member to come see you in prison, and this is how you treat me?¡± The other voice said. ¡°Oscar, get outta my face, man. Don¡¯t nobody wanna hear this ultra nice guy routine! I hate you.¡± ¡°Brother, what did I do to you? Why do you hate me.¡± Oscar asked. ¡°You have no idea how hard it is to live up to the prodigal son! Here comes Oscar with perfect grades, here comes Oscar with the perfect girl, here comes Oscar with doing great, Oscar, Oscar, Oscar. That¡¯s all I ever heard. You¡¯re hot garbage, bro; I was stuck livin'' in your shadow. Just you wait when I¡¯m outta here. You¡¯re next. Just you wait.¡± He hung up the phone and walked away, leaving Oscar by himself. Ob woke up after passing out. Man, I have got to stop doing that, Ob thought. He rubbed the back of his neck, realizing it was drenched in sweat. That was a nasty memory to dream about. It felt so real. Like I was reliving that moment. Why did he think that I was some perfect person? The threat. I don¡¯t remember him saying that at the jail. I know he stormed off but something about that seemed off. ¡°Oh good you have woken up.¡± Abigail said walking up to him, ¡°here eat. We were talking when Eclipse was dragging you in. It appears you used all of your manna, congratulations. You are on your way to being a full magic user.¡± Ob sat up and took the offered food with glee. He hadn¡¯t eaten while in this new dimension and he was starving. ¡°Thank you. I feel different. I feel strange¡± Ob said in a raspy voice, in between bites. ¡°You advanced my friend!¡± Vincent said excitedly ¡°Welcome to the bronze tier.¡± ¡°I advanced? VON?¡± Ob began to check his notifications. Status: Enemy defeated - Succubus You have defeated a Succubus. Reward - 5000 gold pieces Reward - Dark Heart Level up - Skill: Dragon''s Breath Dragon¡¯s breath is now level 5 Dragon¡¯s breath is now bronze tier, Dragon¡¯s breath can now be used through items. Level up - Power: Natural Power: Draconian Ally Draconian Ally is now level 2 Level Up - Power: Nurtured Power: Slayer Slayer is now level 3 Status: Advancement You have advanced from Normal to Bronze You have gained an additional 15 coins to add to your attributions. Total coins: 27. ¡°A succubus huh?¡± Ob said mostly to himself but out loud. ¡°Is that what you killed? Damn. Ob, that is impressive, they are notoriously tough to kill.¡± Vincent said. ¡°I uh, had a lot of help. Eclipse did the damage from the outside.¡± Ob admitted. ¡°That¡¯s not how to kill a succubus though.¡± Vincent replied ¡°Yes your awesome dragon companion did a devastating blow that aided you. Succubus can only be killed from inside. Their exterior skin is nearly indestructible. How did you know that would work?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. I got lucky. I knew that I was too weak to attack it and do any damage. I saw it open its jaw to try to attack us. So once I felt the manna surge through my body, I blew fire in its mouth. Thinking that there was a chance I could kill it cause most creatures are more vulnerable on their insides. It was a gamble.¡± Ob replied. ¡°That is not luck.¡± Abigail said. ¡°Luck is rolling dice and getting what you wanted 3 times in a row. You displayed instincts.¡± ¡°Do you have a power that is related to killing? Like Hunter, Assassin, Executioner -¡° ¡°Slayer¡± Vincent and Ob said at the same time. ¡°Right,¡± Vincent said, ¡°is that what you have? Slayer. That is not exceptionally rare. Rare as in very few people have it because it requires some divine intervention. But rare because few people have that ability. ¡± Vincent said, sounding almost too impressed. ¡°Slayers have the ability to sense how to kill their opponents most powers relating to killing does, but a slayer is much more precise. I would have known about their strengths instinctually but not know how to kill it. You¡¯ve got a rare power and a gift my friend. It means you have a crazy resolve.¡± ¡°So I''ve been told¡­¡± Ob said distractedly. ¡°That still does not account for the fact that she was 13 levels higher than you Ob.¡± Abigail interjected ¡°Even with your smart thinking or how you call it ¡°luck¡± your damage should have been absolutely minimal to her. How are you so strong?¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know, Abigail.¡± Ob responded innocently, still hiding his ability which gave him a massive strength bonus. ¡°I want to know, I have all these coins from leveling up. I want to distribute them wisely but I am not sure what the best thing to do is.¡± ¡°Well that depends,¡± Abigail said, raising a hand to Ob ¡°Let me finish, are you wanting to work alone or work in a party? Alone you would want to be well balanced. Taking care to be able to handle most situations, in a party though, you can be more specialized and your party members can cover the rest. We have already offered you to join our party. You also have Eclipse to think about, she is your lifelong companion so even there you have a bonus strength that you won¡¯t need, cause you will never be walking alone.¡± ¡°I see. I guess that makes sense. For now though, I think I will put them all evenly as I am at such a low level. Having a strong foundation before specializing will be good. Thank you, Abigail. You have answered an immense amount of questions, your wealth of knowledge is well noted.¡± Ob said, giving her a respectful nod. Status: Ob Jones Has allocated his attribute coins: +10 to Vitality +10 to Speed +12 to Strength +10 to Manna You have unlocked the ability to view your attributes. To view your attributes view your character icon in your HUD. Attributes: Ob Jones Vitality: 200 Speed: 135 Strength: 137 Manna: 480/480 Ob started to glow as he was allocating his coins. The swirling bronze streaks looked like mini jet streams from jets flowing around him. Inside the swirl, he could feel the strength applying to his muscles, his vitality and manna pool increased to a large depth. Ob was starting to feel very powerful and he couldn¡¯t wait to start training. ¡°Very good. Now, let¡¯s train!¡± Vincent said very excitedly. ¡°I have three skills to unlock, one is for one of my power sets, and the other two are from the federation. I have one final question but I can ask after we begin training¡± Ob said. ¡°Ask it now,¡± Abigail did her best to sound annoyed when she really enjoyed all the questions. ¡°What can you tell me about items and the rarity scale?¡± Ob asked. ¡°Hmmm ¡° she raised an eyebrow ¡°did you get a rare item?¡± ¡°Yes, the dragon charm, remember?¡± Ob said pointedly. ¡°Right, right, right¡± Abigail¡¯s face felt flushed with hot red heat. How could she forget? ¡°Um anyways, Items are based on rarity by how often and how few of them appear. Think of it like odds there are some items that are found everywhere, wooden swords & shields, 1/10 for instance is not very many to find or 1/1m. That is much harder. The ranking system is Basic to Uncommon to Rare to Legendary to Divine. Divine in itself is so rare it is believed to be a gift from a god and that is it. When it comes to selling loot, the higher the rank the better the price you would get in return.¡± ¡°That is where the fun comes in '''' Vincent added, ¡°that is what makes crusaders so rich, some people are lucky to have an extra skill or power that provides bonus rewards or loot to completed missions or defeating monsters! Having one of those in your party is a great way to get yourself some top gear. There is another scale that is not based on how often an item appears. It is also based on the quality. This doesn¡¯t happen for every item you see, typically produced, meat, armor, weapons, etc. You see there are these creatures called grats, huge beasts with large two front teeth, sickly flesh on their clawed hands, with a long skin tail that extracts toxins. Anyways they often drop their hide a legendary quality legendary rarity Grat hide will run you for 300 gold pieces. A lower quality, let¡¯s say uncommon sea witch cauldron basic rarity that sells for 600 gold pieces. When it comes to selling these things it is easy to think higher quality and higher rarity means more money but that is not the case.¡± Vincent paused to take a bite of food ¡°If you can find a skilled craftsman, sometimes they can take your low quality, high rarity item and turn them into high quality and high rarity.¡± ¡°That makes sense, how can I tell the quality?¡± Ob asked ¡°My UI tells me the rarity of an item and even classified it for me. Although I did receive an item that is all question marks and I don¡¯t know what that means. I am also guessing different armor provides different bonuses?¡± ¡°Typically there is a different color of the name when identifying an item that can receive quality bonus. What item are you referring to? Might I identify, do not worry, I cannot take it from you unless I kill you, which would not be good for me¡± Abigail asked innocently, while also peering suspiciously at the sleeping dragon, who Abigail could have sworn she saw a smile reach its lips during that moment. ¡°It¡¯s called a Soul-Home Builder," Ob said. At that mention, Eclipse¡¯s eye shot open and she walked over and lay right next to Ob, full intrigue to the once sleeping dragon. ¡°Were you fake sleeping¡­?¡± Abigail asked, feeling the embarrassment once again. Eclipse offered no response, just simply looked back at the elf. Abgial continued, ¡°no matter. A Soul-Home builder is a question mark to identify due to its extreme conditions. 1) you have to have unlocked a soul-link, 2) you have to have a deep internal connection, this is based on nature of both beings being linked, 3) there must be some reason your soul-link can¡¯t roam the world with you freely, the home will allow it to travel with you within your soul, typically when that happens they will appear on your body somewhere, depends on the link. 4) you have to be lucky, you can have all those conditions lined up and still not get it. And number 5) this one is still heavily debated, but you may have to have some looting power, skill, or ability. It will just appear in people¡¯s hands or inventories. There are some things I noticed about you and Eclipse, Ob, and that is that your bond is growing fast. It has been 3 days and you two have already done coordinated attacks and taken out creatures many levels higher than you, which is an impressive accomplishment. You two also seemed to be both inherently good-natured, which should not be possible for dragons. All I know about dragons is that they are born neutral and you Eclipse seem as if that neutrality leans good by default.¡± ¡°That is because you have never heard of my species, little elf.¡± Eclipse replied. ¡°I am of the astrological dragon species. We are unique in the fact that we are born either good or evil. It is true that I am good and my mother, the Queen, is good, but my other siblings are not. They are the new conquer queens and kings of the East, West, and South clans. My mom must have sensed the nature of Ob, well she knew he was a Draconian before he even knew that he killed a wraith, so she offered me to join before I even met him. I am telling you this information with the trust that you will keep my secret just that. I like you two, you are fun and have been nothing gracious to Ob and myself. I am not as trusting as my counterpart however, I am not naive, I have seen the horrors of this world. I am also not that young as you all have believed, young to dragons and yes technically still a newborn but I am nearly 30 years old.¡± Eclipsed finished. ¡°Thank, thank you¡± Abigail stammered ¡°I suppose I can divulge my secret since you have entrusted me with yours.¡± Abigail began to tell about how she is a princess of her elven kingdom and is next in line for the throne. She explained that her dad, the current king, had sent her to be a crusader for several years before she could even make the decision if she wanted to take the throne, ¡°He told me that it is not in my nature to stay in one place, I must go and explore.¡± The group paused their discussion to go back into the town to retrieve some food and sleeping supplies. Ob had just gotten a large haul of gold after all. As they walked into the city the vendor from a few nights ago appeared with a huge smile, ¡°My friend, my friend! You have helped us greatly, thank you for saving us from that team of succubus. After you vanquished their leader, the rest of them left afraid you would come back and finish the job. Please allow me to provide a hot meal and a warm place to stay. I cannot accept no for the meal and the place tonight, you can return to your travels after one night, please please.¡± ¡°As long as you tell me your name.¡± Ob replied with a genuine smile, shaking the man''s hand. ¡°My name is Lanilion but you can call me Lani.¡± the vendor replied with glee. ¡°Nice to meet you Lani, this is Eclipse, my dragon companion, Abigail and her partner Vincent. We are pleased to actually meet you. We would love to stay, and we thank you for your hospitality.¡± Ob replied respectfully, after introducing him and his friends. The group followed Lani to his home, Ob thought to Eclipse, this is a trap, be ready to attack. Eclipse started to prepare her deadly fire attack. Eclipse sent the message to Abigail and Vincent through Dragon Speak. Chapter 8 - Exchange Pleasentries The group was led into a large open room. The ceiling had to be at least 15 feet in the air to form the structure with beams across the top. The lighting was dim; they used candles that appeared slightly magically infused. The decor reminded Ob of a themed medieval hotel; there were shields, banners, and animal heads that Ob had never seen besides one. A horse-like head with a single horn in the middle of his head. Ob couldn''t help but smile at the sight. The room had several pillars as support from the ground to the top. There were a couple of couches for seating, but the room''s design was straightforward: get your keys and go to your room or go outside. This was not a place to hang about. And yet, people were hanging out. Three of them. Two of them were human men, twins, it seemed. One had black hair, the other had red. They both were small, with pointy teeth and sharp noses. They were carrying a sword and shield each. They wore chainmail armor and did not look happy to see the new team walk in. They both looked like they were well battle-tested, with scars littering their arms. Ob assumed they purposely wore sleeveless tunics to showcase the scars, an intimidation factor. Ob was not intimidated; he was actually far from it. Scars, he thought, scars only show part of the story, the part you survived, which is good. They don''t show who caused the damage or how the scars were treated. Ob began to think back to when he got his first scar from running; he was getting ready for his heat, he was warming up, and he stepped on a rock, lost his balance, and scraped his knee on another rock. Hardly the heroic story that people might think; if anything, it shows how clumsy he was. He scratched absentmindedly at the scar on his eye, now covered by some eyebrow hair that had grown around it. He was walking home when he saw one of his younger sisters being harassed by some neighborhood boys. Ob sprinted in with a flying jump kick, landing one straight in the chest and sending him flying. Ob was then elbowed by the other guy; it wasn''t a hard elbow, but facial wounds bleed easily. Blood was pouring out his eye, and he turned to face the other bully; the bully lunged at Ob, but he dodged it and kicked the guy in the thigh with force. The bully fell to that side, screaming in pain; Ob then kicked his other side with the same force. The bully, screaming in pain and holding back tears, was grabbing both legs and bent over; he didn''t see the devastating punch to the temple that came from Ob; he was knocked out. "Now that was a scar that was a story of triumph," Ob thought with pride, thinking back on the time. These guys, their scars looked like they willingly ran into thorn bushes and did nothing to treat their wounds. Instead of looking tough, they looked like idiots. Next to the twidiots as Ob called them, was a huge minotaur, half man, half ox. The bottom half was that of a powerlifter man, with thick muscular legs attached to an equally thick and muscular torso. The head was that of a minotaur bull head with two long, pointy gray horns. He had his massive hands on the hilt of a big claymore resting on the ground. His eyes were two little red beads staring at them with disgust. As they got to the front desk, Lani had gone into the back to grab their keys. Two more beings walked in the front door. These two looked like the other Succubus, tall, purplish skin, walking with sultry. They wanted the whole world to know that they were sexy and weren''t afraid to use it to their advantage. They approached Ob and hissed, "What are you doing here?" "Hello to you, too," Ob responded without looking at him. One Succubus stayed next to Ob, and the other went to the other side where Abigail stood. "I did not exchange pleasantries, peasant; I asked you a question. Now answer it." The one closest to Ob hissed again. "What is your name, M''lady?" Ob said in a somewhat mocking tone. "You dare mock me? Diedra, the new leader of the Dark Wings?" Diedra spat. "Congratulations on the new role, heard your old leader got burnt out," Ob said with a straight face, just now looking at Diedra. To his surprise, she was more human-looking than a demon; this shocked him since the voice was one straight from the depths of hell. She had a large button nose with dimples on her right cheek. Her eyes were purple, and she wore purple lipstick. Ob was impressed and thought, Magic HAS to be making everyone more attractive, right? Diedra''s face twisted in anger. "You insolent little ant! How dare you make a joke at the dead. For one who you had the gall to kill, you dare speak ill of the dead, do you?" "I," Ob said calmly, his voice slowly turning to ice, "did not speak of her at all. I don''t know Diedra, but you and your 4 buddies best get to steppin up out of my face. I am tired of people strolling around me, acting like they are hot shit. You are not. Move or join your former leader," Eclipse growled a growl of agreement. "A threat?" the Minotaur spoke up. His voice was impossibly deep. "That''s ballsy from a freshly minted bronze," he said, smelling the air as if he could smell the fresh bronze advancement on Ob. Ob noticed that Vincent and Abigail kept quiet with two different facial expressions expressing the same thing. Shock. Vincent''s face was that of a best friend, shocked and proud that his friend had just said something crazy for once. Abigail''s face, however, was one of a mother shocked her little innocent child would say such horrible things. Ob was usually milder. He knew he had the capacity but did not like it. However, Ob was tired. He is tired of daily dealing with people who are so self-righteous that they make a living here so unbearable. He was tired of feeling that people could just treat him like garbage because of his level. He has only been here for 4 days and is still exhausted by it. What would it have been like to actually grow up here? His thoughts were interrupted by an intense aura being smashed into his. It was the same one that the other Succubus tried. He pretended to be scared again, watching his strength stat slowly increase. Without further conversation, the twins leaped into action; they both started sprinting towards Ob, swords at the ready. The red-haired one went in for a swing, then backed off and hid behind his brother''s shield. The swing missed Ob and landed on an invisible shield. Ob looked to see Abigail''s eyes glowing, and she was chanting something. "Let the shield protect." Ob was able to translate in English; it must sound better in the elf tongue. Ob activated his Cloak. It expanded to the size of a king sized sheet. It folded over him and shorded him in total black and he disappeared into the shadows just as a bright white flame erupted toward the shields of the twins. The shield held off most of the flame. Not all of it; the black-haired human''s arms were severely burnt, and he could no longer use the shield or fight. He screeched in pain, spat towards Eclipse, and made for the door. As he was almost at the exit, an arrow entered his thigh; with another shriek of pain, he looked to see another arrow hit him in the shoulder. Vincent fired arrows in many directions to protect his healer and girlfriend. Vincent saw the glorious attack of Eclipse and was once again in awe. He shook himself from that and saw one of the little men running for the door, "Not so fast there," he said with a smile, launching the first arrow into the thigh to stop him in his tracks, then loaded and launched the second arrow into the shoulder of the man, pinning him to the wall. Vincent took a second to appreciate this bow given to him by his now-dead grandma. Vincent didn''t have an ability like Abigail or Ob to identify the rarity of items; he would have to let one of them test it out for him to see, but instinctively, he knew this was divine. Vincent was brought back from his thoughts into his fight as he heard a war cry from the Minotaur charge him; simultaneously, he was slammed with the seductive aura. He felt the sudden urge to shoot Abigail; the aura was strong. He was doing everything he could to fight it but couldn''t help but draw his bow, grimacing towards Abigail. "Vincent, what the hell are you doing?" She said, ducking out of the way of an arrow fired from her boyfriend at her. Abigail began to chant another spell, "Rush forward, pulses of health." shining from her hands, a circle of pink formed and moved towards Vincent, then another one formed, then another, then another. Seven circles were moving towards Vincent at this point. The first one connected and splashed pink waves all over him, circle after circle. Vincent was being splashed with these pulses of health. Eventually, with the strength from the pulses, he could fight the aura with his own. He broke free. He was no longer under the control of the Succubus. "Thanks, Abs!" he said, gasping for air. "Let the shield protect," she chanted again, this time over Vincent, "I purged you from the first effects. That new spell should protect you from any other aura attacks. They pose the biggest threats. We need to handle them." Just as she finished that sentence, razor-sharp claws came right at her throat, and she ducked just in time. Diedra, the new leader, was noticeably fuming angrily now that her aura had been broken. She lunged at the enchantress, seeking to gain any blow. As she went to lunge one more time, she felt something pulling her leg. She turned around to see Ob holding her leg and getting ready to throw her across the room. She flapped her powerful wings and twirled in the air, watching as Ob was thrown a couple of feet back. "YOU" She spat. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. She changed her target and started towards Ob. She pulled out a thorny black whip. It dragged along the ground beside her, tearing up the rugs like butter. Ob''s eyes widened; he could not let that thing touch him. He activated his Cloak once again and entered into the shadow background, to hide his presence. This was an odd sensation. He could not see, only feel. It also did not remove him from the physical space, only hide his appearance. What he felt was very powerful. The aura of Diedra reached out to where he once was, noticing he was behind her. He reappeared and kicked her in the back just like he had to those teenage bullies, but this time, it was with maximum force. The Succubus slammed into the wall and grunted in pain; the wall she landed into had shields, some of which had spiked, and she was starting to get cut. This time, Diedra started chanting something, "Be it now or be it later, suffer the curse of a hater." A dark purple mist formed around her, and she was sent flying towards Ob once again. He jumped into the shadows, he was getting used to projecting his senses to help him see and move around. He was getting used to dodging this way. Ob reappeared and kicked her again into another way, but the cloud was following him. It surrounded him, and he began choking; all he could see was purple. The smoke was slowly poisoning him, and he was losing vision. A whip came snapping out of the purple cloud and struck Ob in the leg, leaving deep gashes; he screamed. Blood was now pouring out of his leg while he was still choking. Ob could feel his health drop rapidly. Ob''s vision was getting more and more blurry the longer he stayed in this haze. He used his Cloak again to disappear into the shadows. He knew the smoke would follow this time, but he had an idea. "Hey, Eclipse, you mind flapping your wings over this purple smoke so I can deal with Diedra?" Without words, Eclipse did just that; as Ob returned, he could finally see the Succubus ready to lash her whip again. As she did, he jumped into the shadows to appear right behind her and let out a huge blue flame, using dragon''s breath. The fire managed to enter Diedra''s cuts and start to burn her from the inside out, just like in the last battle. She whirled in anger and pain, rage painting her face. She was not going to let this lowly bronze kill her. She had to survive; she had to win. Desperation set in, and she reached inside her bag to pull out a vile; she smashed the glass all over her head and felt the liquid pour out. She began to scream in pain as the cuts and bruises began to close. What were once open wounds are now scars. The scars started to protrude sickly thorns that matched her whip. Diedra smiled a smile that would give Pennywise nightmares, her eyes no longer that sweet purple. They were completely black, her joints now thorns; she started slowly jerking towards Ob, readying her whip. "What the hell," Ob said, backing away from this nightmarish creature. "What the hell!" Ob said, walking backward, mind reeling. "I definitely can''t punch and kick her anymore. I need a weapon, I need long-range magic attacks, I need something. ANYTHING." Item: Dark Heart VON said out of nowhere as if he was responding to Ob. Keystone Item Legendary Consume the dark heart to unlock a legendary-level skill to an open skill. You have three skills available. Would you like to use them? Yes/No? Caution: there is a chance this goes to an "undecided" power and skill; once decided, the skill cannot be replaced. Run the risk of getting a skill unrelated to your "undecided." Still use? Yes/No? "I best not take anything risky right now at this moment; let''s call it a fail-safe," Ob said, denying the item. That last dragon''s breath did not do too much on his manna consumption. Only a quarter was taken away. He had to think and had to think fast. Eclipse flapped her wings for Ob so he could continue his fight with Deidra. She turned her attention back to her opponent. It was the other Succubus; this Succubus was slow. However, her attacks were powerful. Eclipse was agile for a dragon, but this was a confined space where she could usually fly and do her attacks. She couldn''t escape too high. Frustrated, she had to think of a different strategy. She then remembered she had gotten the ice breath power; she shot ice at the feet of the Succubus. The Succubus began to lose her footing; just then, Eclipse came flying in, smashing her tail into the side of the Succubus and sending her flying into a pillar. She completely split the pillar in two on impact and broke the next two, finally smashing into a wall. Purple blood started trickling out of her mouth and nose. With another blast of ice breath, Eclipse from the Succubus to the wall. With a big breath, she blasted a massive white fireball toward the succubus icicle, completely incinerating it right then and there. Abigail was getting frustrated, seeing her friends being attacked and knowing she couldn''t do anything about it. "Wait, I can! I think I need to touch them; we have to kill the Succubus, and then the others might be freed!" Abigail yelled. "Everyone, close your eyes," Eclipse spoke into their heads. She used her solar eclipse ability. The shimmering orange and red grew brighter and brighter like the sun, and then the black scales covered the sun to still have the brightness but intensify like a solar eclipse. The opponents were screaming at how badly their eyes were hurting. They could not see a thing. Vincent acted as soon as they started screaming. He opened his eyes and began firing arrows at the Diedra monstrosity. The arrows bounced off some of her spikes. "Damn," he swore. He fired three more arrows, aiming to be more precise, each arrow landing in a different spot. One landed in her temple, one in her side, and the other in her thigh. Diedra screamed. The scream of banshees is high pitched and jarring. Diedra was now blind, in pain, and dying fast. She wasn''t sure what happened, but she knew that she was going to lose this fight. It was coming to an end. There was nothing she could do. Just as she began to take another step, a tall man stood in front of her, eyes full of rage; the last thing she saw was a blue fireball being hurled toward her. She was burnt alive. As Diedra, the final Succubus, lay dead, the Minotaur and the twins start shaking their heads clear. They were clear of that pervasive aura. "Ugh, thank you." The Minotaur said, "They have been controlling us for a few weeks now. Damn, beasties. We''re sorry we attacked you a lot. Thanks for not killing us. We''d love to repay you somehow." Ob, coughing from the smell of two burnt Succubus, imagined the smell would be like finding rotting roadkill and then burning it in a sauna. "Don''t worry about it. Vincent here shot at his girlfriend because of that aura." "Thanks for the reminder, Ob," Vincent said sheepishly. While grabbing Abigail''s hand, "You did great." Kissing her on the cheek. "How were you not affected by the aura?" The black-haired twin asked. "Now, that''s an expensive secret. Y''all have some safe travels. We must be going." Eclipse interrupted. The Minotaur took the hint, disappointed the black-haired twin didn¡¯t ask anymore questions. Each party shook hands and departed from each other. The other party was limping away, sustaining significant injuries but being alive. Status: Enemy defeated - Diedra, Leader of the Dark Wings Reward - 7500 gold pieces Reward - Succubus wings Reward - Succubus horns Reward - Tentacle of the Dark Enemy Defeated - Succubus Reward - 3000 gold pieces Reward - Succubus wings Reward - Dark Stone Level Up - Skill: Stalker Stalker is now level 7. Stalker has advanced to bronze tier. Stalker has unlocked the ability to completely hide in the shadow realm. Level Up - Skill: Dragon''s Breath Dragon''s Breath is now level 10 Level Up - Skill: Dragon''s Hide Dragon''s Hide is now level 6 Level Up - Power: Draconian Ally Draconian Ally is now level 8 Level Up - Power: Slayer Slayer is now level 3. Slayer has advanced to bronze tier. Slayer has unlocked the ability to learn about weaknesses off monsters. Level Up - Ob Ob is now level 4 34 attribute coins have been added to your pile total coins: 34 "Well, it''s now dark, and everything is closed," Ob told the group after looking over his spoils and notifications. "Maybe we try to find a shop for food and healing stuff, then head back to the cave?" "Let me heal; it will help me level up." Abigail said, "But yes, food sounds very nice right now." The rest of the group nodded in agreement and set off. As they headed out the door, a familiar voice cried out for them to wait. "My friends, my friends, I have sent you into a trap. I am in deepest apologies; let me make it up to you with a feast, a feast!" A scared-looking Lani said he knew he had just messed with some mighty people. It might not have been his fault, but he still felt remorse. Ob looked at the group, most specifically Eclipse; she gave him a slow nod and spoke to him. "I am sure you sense the same as I do. He is no longer under the influence of the Succubus." Ob nodded, confirming that he had sensed the aura of the Succubus; that is how he knew they were walking into a trap. I really need to train; there is so much for me to learn, he thought to himself and Eclipse. The group agreed to Lani''s proposal; he showed them their room, a large master suite. The suite had three large rooms, the size of a small city studio apartment. A large living room with couches and a large circular dining room table was between the rooms. As the meal was being prepared, Ob went to clean himself off. Abigail had gone to each of the drawn baths and used one of her healing powers to set the water to heal, "let these waters cleanse the wounds of battle." The water glowed teal green like her eyes do when she is in battle. Ob, still amazed by magic, watched as the gashes on his leg slowly closed and the pain faded away. Ob stared at his leg, which was beginning to heal. He watched as the wounds closed, his skin reformed, and his blood faded. "Wow, this is amazing." He blew some fire into the water to increase the temperature; after all, he could not burn. Ob closed his eyes, took a warm, healing bath, and waited for a hot meal to arrive. Chapter 9 - Ill Gladly Be Weak "I''m sorry, Ob. I just can''t do this anymore. For once, be angry, for once be sad, be something besides optimistic and happy all the time!!" a young woman was yelling at Ob. She was pretty and had fair skin, with blond hair falling to her shoulders. She had blue eyes and a soft, raspy voice. She was several inches shorter than Ob, her eyes were puffy, and her nose was red and running. "What are you even saying right now, Charlotte?" Ob responded evenly. "I can''t do this anymore. You''re always happy; it''s exhausting. I feel like I can''t say anything negative or down around you. You''ll instantly look for the good side of things." "I am sorry if I have made you feel like you couldn''t be real. That''s not me; I''ve been tryna help you feel better ''cause you have been in this funk for so long. I am far from happy all the time. You make me feel happy, you make me forget the pain, I feel everyday." "Well, it didn''t work. Mission failed. I have found someone else, someone who actually treats me how I should be treated. I''m sorry, Ob, but we''re done. How about next girlfriend, you act like this, not after years of being one way, just some advice. I''ll see you later." She turned away from him and left him standing there holding roses.
Ob woke up to someone knocking on his door, "Ob food is here, come on!" Vincent was saying from outside the door. Ob got out of the tub; he realized he didn''t have a fresh pair of clothes. He only had the ones he had been wearing for the last 4 days, straight without a bath or cleaning. He found something next to the bath that looked like underwear and put it on. To his surprise, they were full pants. He walked out to the dining room table to see Abigail with her hair down and wet. It was long, almost touching her butt. Ob remembered Charlotte, the girl from his dream. That was his ex; she always had her hair up towards the end of their relationship. She knew Ob preferred hair to be down. Ob shook that thought out of his mind. Approached the massive table of food. He had no idea what was in front of him. Ob hadn''t told the whole team that he was not from this dimension yet. So he wanted to avoid asking what foods were what. Ob learned that they are equivalent to cows in this world. "What is troubling you, Ob?" Abigail asked, staring at him, just staring at the food. "I uh," he glanced at Eclipse. She just looked back as if to say this is a decision he must make on his own. He took a deep breath, "I would like to join your party... now wait before you get too excited. You all should know¡­" "That you''re not from this world," Vincent said, cutting him off. "But we''re super honored you were going to tell us." Ob stared at the two in disbelief. He even heard Eclipse chuckling in her corner. How did they know? Am I that obvious? "Ob, you are like a reindeer in the street. You look so lost all the time. Yes, I could have believed that you came from a very desolate place, but magic still exists in this world. That is not going to change no matter where you grew up. You are, what, 29 years old? That''s far too old not to know about anything magical," Abigail said, laughing and looking at her new friend with amusement. "You''re strong as hell," Vincent said in between bites. "So that''s something you got going for you." "Well, I guess the cats are out of the bag," Ob said. "Wait, y''all have cats, right? You two seem not blown away with another being from out of your world¡­" he eyed the couple suspiciously. Abigail laughed some more, "Yes, we have cats! I imagine we have the same animals as your realm with some more. The magical ones would be here and not where you come from. What is your home called? How did you get here? Are you going back? There have been tales of people who ¡°skip dimensions¡±, no one knows why exactly but you are not the first one." "Oh, so this is actually steak? Thank goodness!!" Ob replied, diving into the meat. "I''m from Earth; I am going to be honest: I don''t know where it is in relation to here; some things in our myths and legends exist here. I assume that someone came before me and brought the myths as stories. When I got here, I woke up just as a spirit, which is how I killed a wraith; Eclipse or Flaxy killed more wraiths surrounding my physical body. Which was when I met Eclipse for the first time. I would like to go back, at least to say goodbye. Not just die randomly." "You died?" Abigail asked skeptically. "That''s what VON said. Many times, actually. I truly don''t know much else, but I do keep having dreams of my past." "You''ve been here for four days, almost five¡­ you have a lot to learn." Abigail said, excited to have a pupil to impart all her knowledge to. "I think we should get you to a big city. Although going with Eclipse could be tricky." "I can go into the soul home. I will need a long rest as I advance to the next levels. After that battle, I can feel the power increase. A soul home will decrease the length of rest." Eclipse said sleepily like she was ready for a long nap. "Why do you need to rest, but I don''t?" Ob asked. "You do." Both Abigail and Eclipse said, Abigail smiling at her other new friend. Was she becoming a friend of dragons, too? She couldn''t deny how badass Eclipse was and how loyal and friendly too. If all dragons were like her, perhaps she would really like it. "As I mentioned, the fundamental differences between dragons and normags?" "I do," Ob said. "Well, when all magical beings or beings with magic potential level up, their magic has to grow in order that we can add the depths of your manna pool, strength, and additional magic. Being a primarily magical being requires a lot of growing because my capacity is already so high. This is why the more levels I gain in one sitting and the higher level I get, the longer I''ll need rest. Meaning it would be wise to spend those days training and not adventuring without me. You Ob are different. You are both 100% physical and magical; you are in part Celestine. Your resting time will be cut dramatically less. Your body naturally adapts to the surroundings." Eclipse finished. "Not yet," Ob said. ¡°I am not fully a celestine, last time I checked I was slowly progressing. What is a Celestine?¡± "A celestine. It is a being from other dimensions; they are magical and physical in nature. Their magic comes from the cosmic realm." Abigail explained, "Celestines have the largest magical potential, barring full magical beings like dragons. Either you were reborn as a Celestine, or you always had the magical potential, but being born in a place, as you say, magically desolate would force your magic inert; your death had to be an¡­" She paused, searching for the right word "awakening, of your magical potential, began. Honestly you being a celestine is rarer than being from another dimension, the two go hand in hand. Not every dimension skipper is a Celestine but every celestine is a dimension skipper." "That doesn¡¯t help me though because I am progressing to it. I wasn¡¯t born fully as one, I came here human, I am still human, somewhat. But let me get this straight, had I just woken up. I wouldn''t be a Celestine, but the fact that I had to search for my body makes me stronger?" Ob questioned. "Well, no. Not exactly. Your potential came from when you were born." Eclipse stated. "What do you mean¡­ search for your body?" Abigail and Vincent asked together Ob told the group how he went to bed like every other night in his home world. He told them about his adventures in the place where he was attacked by wraiths and how a dragon killed all the wraiths swarming his body. He went into as much detail as possible, mainly for Abigail''s benefit. The couple looked at Ob with amazement; they had heard stories of people from other dimensions coming to their world but never met one in person, nor did they expect to. Now a real-life Celestine was in front of Abigail, was her friend, and had fought alongside her. She could not believe her luck. Breaking from awe, Abigail asked, "Do you still want to join our party?" The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "If y''all wouldn''t mind having me." Ob responded, "We fought well together. I don''t know if our powers work well together, but I am sure we can find some cohesion." "We did, didn''t we!" Vincent said, beaming with pride. Ob chuckled, "I did think I was going to die in that purple smoke cloud." Suddenly, he remembered getting loot from the succubus they killed, "I almost forgot about these. Hmm, I wonder if there is a way that I can share my UI ability with y''all?" Ob wondered aloud. Help? Any member of your party may have limited access to VON. As VON levels up, your party members may have more access. You have the ability to restrict a party member''s access at your own will. "Got it," Ob said, "Okay, so once I join your party, you''ll have some access to VON, and you can see what these item descriptions are, and we can decide what to do with them." "Oh, perfect," Vincent said, remembering that he wanted them to view his item from his grandma. "How are you going to give us access? To register a party, we have to go to the Crusader Federation, and we are not close to a big city?" A voice started speaking loudly in Vincent and Abigail''s heads. You have been invited to join Ob Jones'' party. Would you like to join? Yes/No? "What the hell is that?" Vincent asked, shaking his head clear of the loud noise. "That was VON; he''s my narrator and tells me stuff," Ob responded. Ob pulled out the items, and the team listened to VON''s identification. Item: Tentacle of the Dark Weapon Rare A whip from a hell-bound kraken. The tentacle possesses magical potential along with long toxic spikes. It can be used as a conduit or as a weapon. Item: Dark Stone Keystone Item Uncommon Use this item to unlock a skill related to the darkness. Use? Yes/No? Ob declined. Item: Succubus Wings Craftable Uncommon Wings of a vanquished succubus use their wings to craft into usable items. Item: Succubus Horns Craftable Uncommon Horns of a vanquished succubus use their horns to craft into usable items. "That tentacle is interesting," Abigail said after listening to the last item, "I don''t think any of us can really have any benefit from it, but it is useful for some money, I bet." "Or it could be traded for something more useful for us," Vincent added. "Just so. Why did you decline the dark stone? You still have some skills to unlock?" Abigail asked Ob. "I don''t like the thought of having dark magical powers." Ob said thoughtfully, "I have this other item from the first succubus. It is a dark heart, similar to the dark stone but much rarer. It offered the same and asked to be used during the battle." Abigail''s face fell dark and serious, "You did not use it, did you?" She asked, none of her usual joy for education in her voice. "No," Ob responded, "I just said I don''t like the thought of anything dark in my powersets." "Good, very good." She responded, now pacing and muttering to herself. "That is a legendary item. That is a curse, Ob. It turns the consumer into a practitioner of the dark arts 10/10 times. If you have a good and pure heart, that is how you taint it." "The hydra¡­" Ob began to realize, "The hydra from your story, Abigail, was it given the dark heart?" "I do not know," She said, shaking her head, "I am unaware of beings giving their soul-link items to use at all; that must be unusual. If the demi-god did, though, then it is very plausible that is what caused the Hydra to lose their entire control." "It can be done; I have already given an item to Eclipse. You said dragons have a bad rep, right?" Ob asked. "Rep? I do not know this word; I lost the translation. You have already given something to Eclipse?? What did you give her?" Abigail said, concerned in her voice. "Er, reputation; what if there is someone who is giving the powerful dragons these items to turn them evil and not good? I gave her an ice stone; it gave her ice breath." Ob stated calmly as if it were no big deal. "That is a thought Ob. You must remember this conflict with dragons did not appear overnight in thin air. It has been nearly three millennia of fighting and conflict. The example I gave you was ONE of the countless terrors some dragons have been a part of." Ob noticed how confidently she said something. Was Abigail becoming okay with dragons? "Although," she said, interrupting his thoughts, "your heart is in the right place; you are a newborn. You have yet to learn what you are talking about. An ice stone is a rare item. You gave your ice stone, a rare item, to your soul-link partner, less than how many days knowing each other?" "You''re right, I''m sorry. I come from a place where dragons don''t exist, and in places they do, they are hated; I get lost in the one I know and have as a friend, which is incredible." Ob reluctantly said, "Yes, I did; she had skills to unlock, too. It''s a give-and-take relationship; this was day 1. I''m not going to like the answer to this question... Are succubus considered monsters or a race?" "Both," Vincent chimed in, "A Succubus is a demon classified as a monster. They are also classified as their own race, as demons can take on many forms. The hell realm or dimension or world, whatever you want to call, is large and vast, full of many species, creatures, races, you name it." "Can they join any federation?" Ob asked, starting to feel guilty. "Well, that is complicated. The short is not really. Due to their dual classifications, monster/race demons have a hard time getting into any federation; they do not want evil taintin their names after all. Except for Maverick, they truly only care about power; well, at least, that is how it is now. I digress. The Crusaders won''t care because it''s corrupt, as most large-standing government bodies are. This is why they were able to have a team. What makes it even more complicated is that they are beings of magic, much like dragons, so they cannot have that third powerset unlocked; they don''t even have powers; their skills are limited to their race, in their case species. Why.. what''s the matter?" While Vincent was explaining, Ob had put his hand on his head on the dining room table where they were all sitting. "I killed someone. Another living being, I killed it. What is wrong with me?" Ob said into his hands. "Ob. Did you just eat meat?" Vincent asked, annoyance in his tone, "Yeah, you did." Not allowing him to respond, "You sit here eating a dead animal that someone went out and killed, brought back, butchered and cooked it, and you ate it with glee. No remorse. Yet you sit here sulking over killing something that was out to kill you first?" "That''s different, Vincent, and you know it." "Oh, do I now? I know that it is different?" Volume raising, "There are many things in this world that will kill you without batting an eye. Magical things, much worse than what you have experienced! If you are going to hesitate for a millisecond because you want to spare their lives, then you should not join our party. That makes you weak, and we cannot afford weakness!" "I may not show remorse for the food that I eat, but I am grateful and say grace every time I eat," Ob responded coldly. The aura in the room shifted; it became heavy and hostile. Abigail looked up at Ob. She saw black, orange, and red start to radiate out of him; it was as if she physically saw the aura around him manifest, which should not be possible. Aura is a very spiritual expression that should not be visible in this physical reality. "Weakness, you call it weakness. Then why did you not kill the twins and the Minotaur? Why did you let them go? You had a shot to kill one of them, but you pinned his shoulder instead? You sit here and talk to me about weakness when I did the killing. Twice, two times, I have had succubus eyes staring at me right before I ended them. Right before their existence is no more. If wanting to spare the life of someone or something makes me weak and killing without remorse makes you strong, then I''ll gladly be weak." The aura grew more volatile, pressing down on everything around it. Eclipse watched in awe; this aura felt like a being with immense power who remained neutral and was trapped behind a cage, always on a balance beam. It felt like it could go from chaos to purity instantly or vice versa. It was an immense power but delicate, like an egg. She supposed this is how Ob felt back in his home world but without the power. She felt justice and balance prevailing. Ob never seemed like a guy who would go too far when things went wrong. She was right. Ob constantly kept things in. When his birth parents gave him away, Ob never expressed how much that hurt, and when none of his blood relatives accepted him to take care of him, Ob pushed that down. When he was finally adopted, all of that came out in the form of hard work and a lot of tears. He always felt like the world was full of people who were slighting him, wanting to piss him off any moment they could. Then when Charlotte, his first love, left him for not feeling, for not feeling the pain, hardships, and emotions he had been feeling his entire life. Only for her to leave him completely alone. Cold break, no remorse gone. Ob hadn''t lost it then. It was when he turned 18, and his parents asked him to start paying rent when they hadn''t asked his older siblings with children too. With them saying, "How could we possibly make our kids pay?" Even then, he did not lose it. He simply backed his bags and left. Ob was excited to have a fresh start. He was excited that he had all this power and all this potential. A brand new canvas was there for him to start painting his own life. Yet here he was, constantly fighting people who were still treating him not much different than Earth. Yes, the succubus sucked, and they deserved to die; it didn''t mean he had to like killing them. It doesn''t mean he must always be okay with killing things; it''s a balance. It is always a balance. In Ob''s mind, balancing is hard; it takes strength and courage. Weakness is when you go all one way or all the other, refusing to put in the effort to be wrong, to know that you are not always on the right side. Ob realized his aura was out of control with a controlling breath. He walked back into his room. Leaving the trio to sit in what just happened. Chapter 10 - Cotton Candy Abigail looked at Vincent. Her boyfriend''s face was bloodshot red, and he was sitting there like he had just seen a ghost. She had never felt an aura that strong from anyone short of Adamantium. It was clear that his spiritual being was also just as strong as his physical. She wasn''t sure what to say in this situation, if there was anything she could even say that would make anyone feel better. She felt helpless. She walked over to Vincent and tried to comfort him in the best way. "I shouldn''t have gotten so frustrated with him." Vincent said, voice shaking, "I got so offended. I felt as if he was attacking all hunters for being soulless, without remorse for the dead." "Did you notice he gave thanks for the food before eating it?" Abigail asked. Vincent''s eyes went wide even more¡­ "Damn. No" Vincent got up to go towards Ob''s room. He wanted to apologize. He felt awful. "You won''t find him in there," Eclipse said, not looking at them. "He left."
Ob needed some air. They were on the second floor of the building. Ob guessed that it was a 20 foot jump down. He looked and decided to try anyway; he did pole vault in college, he figured. He''d be fine. Ob jumps out the window with a free fall; as he gets close to the ground, he tucks and rolls, like he has seen people performing parkour have done, feeling nothing. "Hmm, well, that was pretty damn cool." He said to himself, grinning like a little kid, "maybe I should try a superhero landing next time." He stood looking at the window he just jumped out of. He had been so busy he had not even taken the time to observe the buildings. They were amazing. They all looked like gothic churches in European countries. The building that he lept from was graphite gray. It had some stained glass with two tall spirals scratching the sky. Ob''s eyes went wide. So much of his time here, in this world, had been spent fighting or fleeing. He was told that the world is full of beauty and wonder. All he had seen was violence and gore and assholes. He looked at his fists. Rotating them back and forth and staring at them. Feeling the manna surge through his knuckles, wow, he thought, amazed at his power. This feels incredible. Ob thought the feeling was like how your body feels after a good stretch, but it was more intense. It felt powerful; it felt like small sparks coursing through his veins as he looked at his arms, looking at the veins popping out of his arms; he began to wonder what he looked like. Ob left the alley that he had landed in and made for a shop. He wanted to get new clothes. He wanted a weapon. I need a weapon. Punching people is not going to be sustainable in the long term, especially with Diedra. She grew to that wild monstrosity and I couldn''t get close to kicking or punching, Ob thought to himself. He didn''t like talking to himself, but he oddly found it calming after all that he had gone through. Entering the main avenue of this tiny little town, Ob was struck with the smell of food, incense, and body odor. A strange combination for sure, but it felt comforting. Ob walked up to this vendor who was selling what looked to be smoothies. "Ay, what can I do fer ya traveler?" the vendor said. "Hey, whatcha selling?" Ob asked. "Ay, I sell juices made from these fruits here; there is a local farmer round her that drops off some of these fresh fruits." the vendor continued. ¡°Sounds, good. Hey man, what''s your name? I''m Ob," he said, offering his hand to shake. "I''ll take what the town''s favorite is. Mind if I watch how you do it?" "Ay, you must be a very distant traveler. Most people don''t talk to us like that, ya see. Ay, the name''s Loiven," Loiven said, shaking Ob''s muscular hand. "The town''s favorite is this here. It''s got a sweetness to it but a lot of good stuff in there ta make ya grow big in strong, although ye don''t need," He said, shaking his head and chuckling. He noticed the fruit Loiven pulled out looked very similar to the guava. He watched as Loiven pulled out a giant long sword and cut the guava looking fruit in half and watched him blow ice over the guava looking fruit half. Turning the edible part to an icy consistency. Loiven then pulls out a mixture of spices and pours them onto half of the guava looking fruit. Loiven then threw the whole thing into the air once again, blowing the juice concoction. As it was coming back down, he pulled out a big bowl and smashed the frozen juice concoction. ¡°Ay, here ya go Ob¡± Loiven said. Ob looked at the drink and got excited. "How much do I owe ya?" Ob asked, taking a sip of the frozen drink. "Ay, on the house Ob the traveler, thanks for being so kind," Loiven said with a genuine smile. Ob accepted the complimentary drink, looked at the tip jar, and added 100 gold pieces. He nodded his head and walked off, continuing down the main avenue. As he continued walking down, he came upon a shop. The window display had many weapons. He entered the store. "Oh, hello," an elderly woman''s voice said as Ob entered the shop. "How may I be of assistance?" "Hi, ma''am. I''m Ob," Ob responded with a gentle smile, "I am looking for a weapon that would match my powerset." "Nice to meet you, Ob; my name is Janice. You must be a bit more cautious mentioning your powerset. It would get people to look into you more carefully, Draconian." Ob''s eyes grew wide, and he felt the manna in his body start to head down into his belly. He was getting ready for a fight, another fight. He was not ready for another one, not against this old woman. Janice was small, with cloud-white hair; she had wrinkles all over and walked with a slow limp. "Relax, Ob. I am not your enemy. I saw your battle with the succubus that one night. You and your dragon fight with such passion and love. Your connection is unique. It is one that I think could change the world to not be so afraid of these beautiful creatures. But be warned I am not everyone." "Thank you," Ob said respectfully. "I will be more cautious, I hope to change the world, but first, I have to be able to protect myself." "Come closer, please grab my hands." She takes Ob''s hands and starts touching his palms. Her eyes start glowing solid white to match her hair. "Your journey has been hard getting here. I sense the pain in your aura. Ah yes, there it is. I think I have the perfect weapon for you, young Draconian." As she let go of Ob''s hands, her eyes returned to her gray color. She turned right away and headed to the back. Ob kept searching the weapon''s shop while Janice went to the back. He peered at swords, bows, wands, and staves; all of the weapons were so cool. He felt that they were straight out of the video games that he used to play when he was younger. He absent-mindedly thought of home; he wondered if anyone missed him, if Charlotte regretted what she did if his adopted parents even cared. What was happening? What would happen if he went home? Would he keep his powers? He rubbed his face and felt the stubble. This was so different. He didn''t feel the same; he felt like his core was the same, but everything else was much different. Looking around the store, he found a mirror; nervously, he walked over to it. As he looked into the mirror, he saw a rugged face looking back at him. His eyes he looked at his eyes. They looked like mini solar eclipses. They were beautiful, he thought. They were calming. It was all about balance; the moon had to be the exact distance to cover the sun while the sun was in the perfect position. It takes precision. He felt as if his eyes were reflective of his entire being. Something so beautiful but rare, something so natural but dangerous to look at. "I don''t mind the stubble now that I can see it. It makes me look older and stronger?" A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "Here we are," Janice said, interrupting his thoughts, "I think this is perfect for you." She presented Ob with this long box. The box was probably 4 feet long. It had gold trim with a dark gray interior with some intricate designs mixed in. "This is a scythe of the Ryagnor clan. They were once a powerful clan of draconians. They were adept in magic and in weapon combat. This Scythe can perform both magical attacks and well, physical." Ob''s jaw dropped. The Scythe was beautiful. The bottom of the Scythe had a crescent blade. The main blade was platinum with a golden trim. The blade was extremely sharp and could be used for a fair amount of cutting damage. The handle of the staff was beautiful as well. It was a rod made of dark orange and shimmering onyx, dark and orange, that matched him and Eclipse. The scythe blade itself was a powerhouse. It was made out of a Damascus mixture of obsidian, platinum, and onyx; it came out to be jet black. Sturdy, durable, lethal, and magical. The blades hummed. Three separate blades looked like a pointed dragon''s claw. The blade bodies, each individual stacked on top of each other, would all converge as it got closer to the point to form one sharp point, capable of poking an eye out and slashing like three dragon claws. "This Scythe," Janice continued her explanation, "was built with a staff bottom and staff pole, which allows the magical properties to be increased. It adapts to the wielder''s powerset. It is unique that way." "I-I don''t know what to say; it''s perfect," Ob could barely get the words out. "How much?" "For you Ob, 5000 gold pieces, this is a bondable item." Ob gawked at the price. He had yet to learn exactly how currency went, but he remembered from Eclipse that 1500 was usually a year''s worth of wages for ordinary folk. He needed a weapon, though, and he had the money. He accepted and handed the money over. Item: Scythe of the Ryagnor Clan Bondable Weapon Legendary Crafted by the smiths and magicians of the ancient Ryagnor clan, this Scythe is deadly in power and magic. The Scythe can be named and bonded to a user''s aura in order to match its abilities to the abilities and powersets of the wielder. Would you like to bond? Yes/No? Yes. The bonding process has begun. Would you like to name Scythe of the Ryagnor Clan? Yes/No? This option can be updated later. "Yes, Hades." Ob said, loving how it reminded him of death and his love for Greek mythology, which made the choice simple. Hades has been bonded to Ob Jones. Hades has a status update to view. Weapon: Hades Bondable Weapon Hades has adapted to Ob Jones. Hades now has the power to release the fire of a dragon. Hades now has the power to deal damage scaled up to monsters or enemies in the wielder''s tier or higher. Insufficient Soul Manipulation level to use spiritual attack ability of Hades. When wielded, Hades adds +5 strength +5 Manna. Ob couldn''t speak. This was an amazing weapon. He wondered if his other skills would open up more powers for Hades. He picked it up. It was very heavy. It had to weigh close to 100 pounds. Janice showed him that he could use his aura and soul to reduce the weight and even make it smaller so that he could put it in a sheath across his back. Ob thanked Janice for the weapon of all weapons. She thanked him for the sale while reminding him of her warning. Not everyone was a supporter of draconians. Ob walks out of the store and continues down the main avenue, looking for a clothes and armor shop. He figured he would need more than one set of tunics. He hadn''t asked Abigail, but he assumed the tunics were all magically enforced to clean and repair themselves, or at least some of them. Ob liked his dragon tunic, but he wanted something less draconian. He stumbled upon an armor shop. It looked like it was for heavy-duty armor. Hoping that there were some tunics for more agile types. As he walked into the store, this was the first store that had multiple people in it. Two tall, beautiful women turned their heads to see him walk in. They looked him up and down as if they were searching to find out why this man was near them. "Sorry, sweety." One of the tall women started to say, "Draconians are not welcomed here. Go find patronage someplace else." Ob ignored the rudeness and stupidity he felt from them. He capitulated and turned to walk out. The same woman started laughing, "I''m joking. I''m joking. I don''t even know if you are draconian, just your tunic." She was still laughing. "What are you looking for, friend." The two women reminded him of the Amazon women. They were towing over Ob. They both had bronze skin and bronze eyes. Their hair was sun-kissed brown. The one who spoke had her hair long and down in a practical ponytail. The other one had her hair up in a bun. Ob was not used to being shorter than most people, let alone women. "More tunics, "he said with a serious face. The two women doubled over in laughter, clearly impressed with this young man. The other one smiled a smile that was genuine from ear to ear. "I''m Ob," he offered to the store clerk, who was enamored by the dashing woman. "Reginald," the skinny man said in an accent that was very butler-like, taking Ob''s hand in his and shaking it. "How may I help you, Ob?" Before answering, he turned to the two women and gave a respectful nod, knowing that they knew his name now but did not offer theirs. The two looked back at him and said their goodbyes to Reginald. Then walked out without another word. "Amazing aren''t they?" Reginald asked. "I''m looking for a few more outfits; all I have right now is this tunic, and well, it doesn''t get too much love." Ob replied. Reginald laughed, "You are right there, sir; Dragon tunics are great armor and very sleek. However, they are not loved by most people. I''ll tell you what, they provide ideal bonuses, maybe I can make them into different clothes that are less draconian but keep the same bonuses?" "That would be great," Ob said gratefully, "Any other suggestions you have for someone who is new in the magical arts? Armor or outfit wise?" "Hmmm," Reginald thought carefully, "You''ll want to have some formal wear if you go to big cities; they are more¡­ strict than these small towns you happen upon surrounding them. How about this, I''ll grab your measurements, and you come back in two days, and I''ll have your new dragon armor, formal attire, and additional armor?" "Sounds good, I''ll buy one more set of tunics just so I can leave here clothed," Ob said with laughter, "How much will all of that cost?" "Of course, of course, decency is key," Reginald chuckled, "that''ll be a total of 600 gold pieces. You can pay at the end if you''d like." Ob pulled out the amount of gold he needed and handed it to Reginald, "I got it here, thanks boss! I appreciate you." He shook the tailor''s hand and walked out. After having felt like he had a successful day of shopping, he checked in with himself emotionally, "I''m feeling better. A little guilty as well, I shouldn''t have reacted so harshly. I need to apologize. I am feeling a lot more. Balanced." He started to head back to the inn they were staying at. The sun was starting to set, and the sky looked like a mix of cotton candy on fire; it was breathtaking. Ob stopped walking and just stared at the setting sun. He took a really deep breath in, slowly exhaling. Whatever happened to him on Earth, he was positive being here had slowed his life down, and he loved it. No matter how annoying the creatures here were, how hideous some monsters were, or how rude some people could be. This world, his new residence, was still beautiful, and he had only seen one small town. "There is a great big world out there, I am stoked to see the whole thing." He continued his walk and found the inn. Ob walked into the room to see the trio in almost the exact same spot as when he had left them. Chapter 11 - Dont Let It Put You in the Ground Vincent stood up when he heard the door creek open. He looked at Ob with apologetic eyes. "Hey, um," he began to say with nervousness plaguing his voice. "I am sorry too, big guy." Ob apologized in response. Walking up to him and giving him a firm handshake. Abigail''s eyes went wide with shock. Did Ob just apologize for something that Vincent did? Why? "I shouldn''t have stormed off like that or lost my cool. I''m better than that." Ob continued. "No," Vincent said, "I shouldn''t have been so aggressive. I was offended as a hunter about the thought of killing being seen as evil. Being a hunter, a killer, meant that in your eyes I was wrong that something was wrong with me. I failed to see your perspective from where you come from." "Thank you. Killing is very illegal where I am from, yet there are wars. I wasn''t saying you were wrong at all. I was asking myself why was it so easy? That''s what I meant when I asked what was wrong with me." Ob responded," I know this world has different rules, but it doesn''t mean I have to like them or be okay with killing. But if it is kill or be killed, I will always, without hesitation, choose the former." Vincent stared back at Ob with understanding and slowly nodded. He was starting to understand Ob; he was starting to recognize the toughness he truly displayed. Vincent began questioning his decisions. Was he masking weakness with strength? Did killing something without remorse truly make him tough, or was that just a facade? Eclipse spoke up, "good. Don''t let this world turn you hard. But don''t let it put you in the ground either. It''s a delicate balance Ob. Now, tell us what you were up to." Ob told the group everything. How he met Loiven, Janice, and Reginald. He told them that he would have to go back to Reginald in a couple days'' time for the rest of his gear. He also told them how much he spent, and Abigail was not pleased. She began to lecture him on how important it was to save money; not every town was going to have someone so generous to let them stay for a few nights for free. Ob interrupted her lecture by showing them his new Scythe. "Whoa." Vincent breathed out slowly. He walked over to the Scythe and touched it, "You named it Hades? That''s a great name, but why that?" "There is a story in my world of a god who was the king of the underworld," Ob stated, "the king of the dead. He has been depicted in many different ways, but one of them is with a scythe. The Scythe has been known as a symbol of death, and I aim to maintain that symbolism," Ob said with a big smirk. "At first Ob," Abigail started saying, "I thought you got ripped off for the weapon, 5000 gold pieces for anything is very expensive. I think, however, that the woman." "Janice," Ob interrupted. "Right¡­ Janice," She said, narrowing her eyes at him, "did you a massive favor? This is an awesome weapon. It matches your powerset perfectly; the fact that it adapts, just like you, is quite beneficial." "Yeah, she knew I was a Draconian, which I am not sure how, and said that this weapon would be perfect for me, and boy, was she right. I love that I can perform long range attacks while also amplifying my physical attacks too. This would help me bigtime against monsters that would be like Diedra." Ob said. "That does not surprise me that she knew that. A lot of shopkeepers have the ability to read the abilities of their customers so that they can provide the best services to them," Abigail added. "Right, magic," Ob thought out loud. "Speaking of magic.. I ran into these tall bronze women at Reginald''s. They didn''t offer their names." "Did they look beautiful and vicious at the same time?" Vincent asked, "Ouch." Abigail had punched him playfully for saying other women were beautiful. "Yes, yes, they were." Ob responded. This time, Abigail answered, "Those were Rambonian warriors. They are an all women tribe, they claim to be descendants of some god. They act like it too. That makes sense that they didn''t tell you their names, they probably deemed you unworthy." "That''s super dumb and very elitist!" Ob grunted. Abigail chuckled, "no arguments here. They know your name Ob, that will be interesting to see how things unfold with them. Pay them no mind though we have to get Eclipse into her new soul-home. We shall also start training." Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "That would be ideal, to get that process started," Eclipse said. "Okay, anyone know how to use that item?" Ob asked. Everyone shook their heads, "thought so." Ob felt a profound sensation in his core, his soul. He felt like it was a door being opened inside of him. As if there was someone who had been waiting for this to happen, he concentrated harder, forcing his senses inward. Almost falling over, he took a seat and started to get in a meditative pose. Breathe, he told himself, just breathe. Focus. Focus on your senses, focus on your body, focus on that feeling. Feel that feeling. Breathe. Feel. Breathe. He would say this over and over to himself out loud. Abigail looked on with utter amazement. Vincent stared at Ob like he was crazy. Ob could feel that door change into something. A portal? Suddenly, a void appeared; it looked like a wormhole, and a solar eclipse merged into one. Eclipse herself looked at this strange thing in front of her. She felt the presence of Ob and began to walk in. She entered the wormhole and saw that it was a realm just like the one she had met, Ob. It reminded her of home. There were constellations, moons, and suns everywhere. It was midnight blue in one area and sky blue in another. She felt like she could change it at her will, so she did. The sky changed to a clear sky blue. The air got warmer around her, and the sun was high in the sky. It was a warm sun that felt close but not too close to be unbearingly hot. There was a slight breeze that made the tall grass she lay in rustle slightly. Next to the tall grass was a bubbling brook; it was small but had a gentle water-falling sound that was relaxing. The smell was that of the fresh brook, clean, crisp air that would be constantly replacing any stagnant air because of the breeze. She had chosen a summer solstice in a mild climate, the longest day of the year but not too hot. She felt a shimmer and saw Ob approaching. He was gazing at everything. He looked calm, she noticed. "Pretty peaceful place you have created here," Ob said in an almost whisper. As if something were sleeping, he did not want to disturb. "Indeed, but this is all your doing," she replied. "You created a home that was like mine back from my birthplace, where I could change the astrological event to match whatever mood. Thank you, Ob. It means a lot. I will gladly stay here and will rest exceptionally well. What do I appear as on you?" "My eyes. They turned into two mini white suns," Ob responded. He knew that a soul-home provided a space for a soul-link it would make alterations to one''s appearance while they were in the home. The placement was always random, and the change was always temporary. Ob''s eyes lost the moon. They were just two white suns with an iris in the middle, smaller, much smaller. "So my eyes are white now, that''s cool. Temporary, of course, but still cool. I''ll leave you to it. Rest up Eclipse. Oh, and thanks for having my back the other day. You really helped killing them wouldn''t have done without you." Ob said, giving his new friend a nice hug before turning out. As Ob was heading out, Eclipsed replied very softly, "Thanks for being the best. I am very grateful for you partner."
Ob Jones Level up Soul manipulation level is now 3 Soul manipulation has gained the skill soul shield. Use your soul''s strength to defend against soul attacks. Your soul home has an increased capacity to 2. As Ob stepped through his teleportation ring from his soul, he read the notification of leveling up. He thought to himself how cool it was that he could have his friend live in his soul without people thinking he was a Draconian. "First things first is we need to sell those dark items you have. You need to get the rest of your powerset. We''ll have to come with you because we can help bring you cohesion with the right Keystones," Abigail said confidently. "We''ll be looking for stones that have to do with increased damage dealing related to your slayer. Nothing dark, I''m afraid that could turn you into a warlock." "What about a light keystone item or mystic?" Vincent asked "Mystic would be ideal, but even a mystic stone is not going to be easy to find or buy," Abigail wondered out loud. "What does mystic provide?" Ob asked, losing track of the conversation. "It could help you be a spell cast, tap into your celestine power a bit more, or give you a random skill," Vincent said. "Most importantly it would compliment your skill to enter the shadows." Abigail said, "your skills, if unlocked by a decent rarity keystone, should become complimentary of each other." She explained. "Oh hey, I forgot," Ob said with excitement. "Yes?" Abigail asked quizzically "What''s a spell casters guide?" Ob asked, taking out the item to show the couple. "An uncommon item that allows the user to gain a skill related to spell casting," Abigail began replying, "The type is unknown, but the skill won''t be as complimentary as a rarer item. Spell casting guides are fine for wizards, mages, or warlocks, even some witches get a kick out of it. But this is not helpful for you. It''s too random, and we don''t want to change it if we don''t have to." "That''s another item you could sell for a pretty gold piece, too, finding the right buyer," Vincent added. "Just so." Abigail nodded in agreement. "Well while the day is still young, let''s go shopping before it''s too dark and everyone is closed." Ob said, walking out the door. "He''s so eager to be better. He''s so eager to learn and grow in strength. We have to steer him clear of anything dark magic." Abigail said to Vincent, watching their excited friend leave. "We have a unique opportunity, Vin. We can help him keep balanced." "I agree, I think it''ll be good for him to have true friends. Let''s be that for him," he said, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek, then followed Ob out the door. Chapter 12 - Strange Man Abigail followed the boys out to the main avenue. They were looking for a trades hall. "A trades hall will be full of people searching for different items that they could potentially purchase or use in their crusading," Abigail explained to Ob as they walked down the street. "It is kind of a crazy place full of loud people who are typically looking to be shady." "Trades halls are notorious for scammers to live in; it''s a place where someone can easily be scammed out of thousands of gold," Vincent added as if he was someone who had been scammed before. "Just so. We will have to proceed with caution, especially with an item as rare as a dark heart." Abigail said in agreement. The trio headed down the bustling street. It was much busier than when Ob was out just a couple hours prior. Street vendors sold jewelry, spell books, food, drinks, and so much more. It felt like a medieval bazaar with magic. Ob looked around at all the different kinds of species interacting with each other. He saw humans, elves, orcs, and some people who looked like a cross-breed of animals and humans. He wondered how many years it took for there to be such civility amongst all these people. "Hey guys," Ob said, asking the two, "I see so many people acting innocently with each other despite being different species. Has it always been like this?" Abigail chuckled. "Of course. Just because someone looks different or grew up in a different place doesn''t mean that they are not still worthy of being treated fairly or the same." "That''s not to say that there are some people who believe they have the superior species and want to assert that." Vincent added, "But you have to understand that here, crusading reigns. A well-balanced crusading team has a mixture of species. The best teams in our history are usually made of three of four unique species in a team of 6; the ones who don''t make it big are the ones who exclude. Abs and I grew up in the same kingdom, and yes, her family were the rulers. They are rare just as rare as human rulers." "Why do you ask?" Abigail said, looking back at Ob. "Where I come from, people do a lot worse to each other. We are all human but are different races, let alone species. Elves don''t exist. Honestly, no other humanoid being exists outside of us. We have had massive wars because one race thought they were superior to others. We have had wars to free slaves... It''s ugly." Ob said all of this to them without making eye contact. He was looking forward. Focusing so hard on the horizon, it was as if staring at it for this long would make things better back home. Abigail stopped in her tracks; she turned to Ob and gave him a hug. "I am sorry, Ob. I am beginning to understand why you are the way you are. Thank you for sharing," she whispered into his ear. Ob was shocked by the hug but hugged her back. Vincent stood watching the two. Vincent had known Abigail for a long time. She would do great if she chose to follow in her dad''s footsteps and be the leader of their kingdom. She was someone who cared deeply for people. She was an empath. Many times, he had seen her step in and go after someone for treating someone innocent poorly. It made sense why she felt for Ob, and he did, too. It was clear that Ob was a part of the race that was treated poorly; otherwise, his question would have been phrased differently. He spoke of the species in a way that was exciting and shocking at the same time; Vincent also caught a hint of relief. "Ob," Vincent began to speak. "Yessir?" Ob responded, letting go of Abigail, and began wiping his eyes. "I am sorry if how I reacted earlier was similar to how you have been treated before," Vincent said sincerely, bowing his head. "No worries, bro. I appreciate your apology. I have to also be good about controlling myself. I brought my past into that situation and took it out on ya. I apologize, too," Ob said, returning the bow with a nod. They looked at each other, the three of them, all understanding each other a little better now. They approached this building with a pair of hands shaking each other as the logo above the double doors. The building was graphite with gold trim around the outside and had a tall, pointy roof. The windows were built with vertical white birch wood slats. They had no glass; they were always open. Wind could rush through the vertical slats. The roof lining was also gold trim. They walked up two steps and stepped onto a porch, which was held up by two graphite pillars, the top and bottom of which were solid gold. Ob looked at the trades hall with wide eyes; he thought about how every building was so great to look at. He wondered if there were some sort of magical construction workers in this world. As soon as they crossed the threshold to enter the jobs hall, Ob felt like he walked into a wall of heat. It smelt awful. A mixture of a zoo and booze, he thought. He saw so many people, species, and creatures all yelling and screaming at each other. Through the chaos of the middle, Ob spotted a large circular pillar; at the pillar''s base were clerks. The clerks were calmly listening to the customers easily. Abigail looked at Ob and wondered if there was a way that they could communicate. Ob tried to use dragon speak to his party. "Does this work?" Nothing. Ob tried to focus on entering the minds of Abigail and Vincent. "Test #2, here we go." They stared back at him with blank expressions. This time, Ob tried to channel the internal feeling of manna and force it into his mind. Next, he thought about his interactions with Eclipse; the link made things easy, but he could feel something faint that was similar. He focused on that feeling and searched for it with his new friends. "Third time''s the charm?" Ob said, closing his eyes as if looking was the reason that it didn''t work before. "We hear you, Ob," a woman''s voice entered his head. Success! He had used dragon speak successfully. He couldn''t help but smile at his accomplishments. "BOOM! LET''S GO!" Ob said in colossal excitement. Vincent looked at his new friend and couldn''t help but laugh at how excited he was to do something for the team. "Very good," Abigail said, chuckling, "The main clerks in the middle are the ones we need to get to. They are the ones who accept items and put them up into the trade center portal." She began explaining. "Then you see to our right and left? Those clerks are the ones who will guide us into finding the proper item we are looking for. In the very back behind the main clerks are gold piece clerks; they give you the money you have earned from selling your items." Ob nodded, understanding what she was saying. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The trio pushed through the crowd, a mixture of excuse mes moves and shoves. Later, they finally arrived at the clerks. "Ello, there, love," The clerk said in a soft, soothing voice, "Welcome to the Trades'' All. What can I do fer ya?" "Hey, how ya doing, Eluna?" Ob said with a genuine smile, "I''m looking to sell this dark heart, dark stone, a few succubus wings, and a pair of succubus horns." He said, presenting the items to the clerk. "I''m doin'' aight here, love, thank you," She said with a surprised smile, "Oh, big haul, big haul indeed. You must be that newcomer who slayed that succubus team. Oh, don''t look so glum; love," she saw that Ob was looking sad at the mention of his victory. He was still trying to come to grips with it, "they were a rotten bunch. They had it coming. I''m glad they are gone so we can maintain the order." She continued, "You''re in luck; all your items are hot right now. You''ll get a pretty big haul for those." Her eyes glowed gold as she took the items, and they disappeared in front of her. She spoke, but her voice was different; it was harsher. "Take this ticket and head back to collect your gold; your items have been sold already." Her eyes returned to their standard brown color; she smiled gently and said, "You have a nice day, ya ''ere love." "Thanks, Eluna, you were a big help," Ob said with another genuine smile. He collected his ticket, looked at his friends, and they moved towards the back of the building. She was pretty kind, Ob thought to himself; she must not be called by her name often. Vincent was watching the exchange between Ob and the clerk. He noticed how much more helpful the clerk was after Ob said her name. She was just as shocked as Vincent to hear him call her by her first name; that was not what they did here. In most aspects of life here, you were a nameless worker. Not with Ob; he was intentional about getting the names of the people who served him; Vincent thought about Lani, their innkeeper; Janice, the weapons saleswoman; Loivern, the vendor; and Reginald, the tailor. Now adding Eluna to that list. Ob didn''t say people''s names because he wanted something from them; Vincent assumed it was because he genuinely cared about their names. They approached the back clerks. Ob held out his ticket to the clerk; the clerk''s eyes were brown but looked like they were dead; how much he hated to be here, "there, Hughuin, I have this ticket to collect gold." Hughuin looked at Ob, blinked in confusion, and then took Ob''s ticket. Hughuin didn''t say anything back to Ob because he was still confused at the mention of his name. "Eh, apologies, good sir." Hughuin said in a high-pitched, panicked voice, "Here is your payout." his eyes glowed golden as he accepted the ticket. After a bit, his eyes returned to standard brown and were a little less dead. The man didn''t hand Ob a bag of coins but a small item. Item: Redemption Ticket Divine This is a ticket given to you by a priest of the god Goldar. It has a pre-selected amount of gold pieces. The amount of gold pieces on this ticket is: 100,000. Would you like to accept? Yes/No? ¡°Holy craaaaaaaaap, YES!¡± Ob exclaimed, not intentionally. This got a massive grin from Hughuin. Hughuin thought how strange this man was; no one had ever called him by his name; it had been nearly 5 years working this job since he heard his name at work. Now, he was excited about the amount of money he just earned. Most people were upset. "Thank you, Hughuin, this is awesome!" Ob said, interrupting his thoughts; his smile was huge, and he went to shake the clerk''s hand. Hughuin shook his hand and watched this peculiar man walk away. ¡°100k?!¡± Vincent said "Oh, my gods. You were blessed." Abigail exclaimed. "Well, we can definitely afford to get you an awesome keystone item. Pretty much any item that you want. Let''s find something to the left over here; we could meet another clerk." Abigail was perplexed; why was Ob always getting such great luck? Especially here, something was happening, but she was not sure what it was, nor was she upset by it. As they approached the final clerk, she was a woman with forest-green hair. She had pointy ears and small horns sticking out of her head. Abigail had called her a forest halfling, half druid, and half human. "Hi Prancey, I''m Ob. How are you doing?" Ob had asked her with a genuine smile and an extended hand. The clerk just stared at his hand and slowly reached out to shake it. "Hello, Ob," she said slowly and carefully, letting go of his hand, "I am doing okay, uh, thank you for asking. How may I be of service?" Her speech was slow and methodical. "Good to hear. I am looking for a keystone item with high rarity." Ob said, looking her in her forest green eyes. "Very good; any kind you are looking for, young Ob?" She said with a small smile. Her eyes flickered as she was asking the question. "Mystic keystone would be ideal. Do you have any of those?" Ob said, noticing the flicker but electing not to mention it. "Ahh, yes, of course. Let me check the inventory," Prancey responded, her eyes turning to the same gold color. She stared in Ob''s direction, but he could tell she was not looking at him. After some time, her eyes returned to their forest green color. She now held several items in her hands and placed them in front of Ob. "Here I have a Mystic Stone, Mystic essence, Mystic box, Mystic Drop, and a Mystic Vile. How many are you looking for?" Prancey asked Ob. "Abigail?" Ob asked his companion through dragon speak "Let''s get three. You can afford three, and having the rest of your powerset be mystic will be good. It will match your celestine race perfectly." She responded. "The most valuable ones there are the drop, vile, and box. But you don''t want the box; it will for sure give you a shield spell that would go against your powerset." Vincent also responded. Now looking back at Prancey, Ob said, "The Essence, Drop, and Vile, please, Prancey." She stared at him momentarily with an eyebrow raised, "Very well. That will be 7500 gold pieces." She handed him another ticket. Item: Ticket of Debt Divine You have been given this ticket to pay off a debt. This ticket debt is set to 7500 gold pieces. Would you like to pay now? Yes/No? Yes. Prancey''s eyes turned gold for a quick flash. She handed the items to Ob, and he gladly accepted them. He looked at Prancey, frowning, "You don''t shake hands usually, do you?" he asked her. Prancey looked up at him and smiled, "Traditionally, druids do not shake hands with strangers." Ob put his head down in shame and sighed, "Damn, I am sorry. Forgive me for my ignorance. I will be sure to keep that in mind next time. Thank you for your grace, Prancey. Take care." He turned and walked out. How strange, Prancey thought to herself; no one had ever offered to shake her hand, let alone apologize for it. It is a small rule amongst the druid community; how was he to know? Yet he is determined to mind her people''s culture. That made her heart skip a beat, and she couldn''t help but smile at the encounter. Chapter 13 - Silver Fox The group left the trades hall. After they crossed that threshold, they all took big inhales of fresh air. The air smelt like a summer breeze by the ocean. It was nice and crisp but not too cold. Ob looked at his friends with a big smile. He felt that it was a great trip to the trades hall. As Ob was standing there taking in the fresh air, suddenly, he saw nothing but a man standing in front of him. The man was solid gold, tall, and glorious. The man shimmered with every step; his presence was divine. Ob felt the urge to kneel, but he did not. Ob simply bowed his head. "You do not bow?" the man asked in somewhat disbelief. "I''m Ob," Ob said, ignoring the man''s question, "What''s your name, my guy?" The man raised his eyebrow at Ob, trying to hide a slight smile. "I am Goldar, the god of trade and gold." He said simply. "Oh, hello there, that explains everything disappearing. To what do I owe the pleasure, lord Goldar?" Ob asked "I wanted to thank you for being kind to my priests in the trades hall. They are not treated well until you. Being a priest of mine is hard because it is a job that means you will be mistreated." Goldar solemnly replied. "Not how you originally designed it, huh?" Ob asked, understanding the pained look on the god''s face. "No, I did not expect that people who are doing services would be treated so poorly. This is not something any of the gods had foreseen." Goldar replied. Ob laughed out loud, and the god raised another eyebrow, "My fault, I''m not laughing at you. I won''t assume what you know, but you know I am from another dimension, yes?" The god nodded, "Right, where I am from, people in service are treated the absolute worst! They are treated as if they owe the person they are serving. I hate it." "Have you experienced this personally?" Goldar asked. "No, I have not. I just see it and want to change it." Ob replied straight. "I see. I understand you a little bit more now, Ob; thank you. I have a gift for your kindness. I hope that it allows you to further your desire in this world," Goldar said with something in his hand; the god offered the gift with his left hand, and with his other hand, he reached to shake Ob''s hand. Ob shook the god''s hand and felt immense power enter his body. It was a massive rush, and he felt a shift in his soul. Then, took the gift. Everything returned to normal in the blink of an eye, and the god had disappeared. "Well, that was fun," Ob exclaimed. "What happened? Where did you go?" Abigail asked nervously, "you just vanished in front of us." "I spoke to a god, I thought something was going on with those tickets they gave me." Ob casually responded. "You spoke to a god and this is your reaction?" Vincent flabbergasted asked Ob. "Yeah, he was a cool dude. Gave me a gift, let''s head back and talk about it more." Ob said, noticing a small group eyeing them. Being sure that they also noticed his disappearing act.
"Dude? What is a dude, nevermind. A god came and personally thanked you for treating his priest well?" Abigail disbelievingly asked, "I have never heard of that before; you truly were blessed, Ob." Ob was in the middle of taking a big bite of food. "Yeah, I guess so. How many gods are there?" Ob asked with his mouthful. "Gross Ob, just wait till you''re done eating." a disgusted Abigail said. "There are many gods here; I don''t know the exact number. That much is unknown. How many gods are there in your world? "Probably only one, depending on who you ask." After swallowing his food, Ob stated, "There are tales of ancient gods that must be very similar to your actual gods. Small that interact with humans more directly. There are, however, many religions out there that there is only one god; this god did show up as a human 2000 years ago or so, came down, and then was killed for doing good." "What?!" Abigail asked, with confusion fully taking over, "How do they kill a god? Why did they kill this god?" "Not a god, THE God, at least that''s what most believe over there; there is a hierarchy of gods; this one we are talking about would be above all the others, then the gods like the ones in this world would be below that one." Ob tried to explain, looking at his friends'' faces he decided to change the topic, "anyways, he gave me this item." Item: Amulet of Goldar Divine Gift item, customizable Wear this amulet of the god of gold pieces; while being worn, all gold pieces rewarded will be doubled. It affects as long as the user is wearing it. Would you like to wear? Yes/No? Yes. The amulet was a solid gold chain link necklace that had the symbol of the god attached to it. The symbol was a gold coin on one side and two hands shaking on the other. Not a fan of necklaces, Ob wrapped it around his arm like a rosary, then tucked it into his tunic arm sleeve. "Whoa, as if we weren''t swimming in money as is." Abigail said, "Why do you think he gave you this?" "He knows I''ll give a lot away to others," Ob said matter of factly. "Okay, let''s look at what these items do." Item: Mystic Drop Rare Keystone Item Use this item to unlock a mystic skill. This keystone item unlocks specifically a skill related to healing. Would you like to use? Yes/No? No. Item: Mystic Vile The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Rare Keystone Item Use this item to unlock a mystic skill. This keystone item unlocks a skill specifically related to items and potion crafting. Would you like to use? Yes/No? No. Item: Mystic Essence Uncommon Keystone Item Use this item to unlock a mystic skill. This keystone item unlocks a skill specifically related to performing mystic spells and attacks. Would you like to use? Yes/No? Yes. While holding the mystic essence, Ob felt the little orb grow and swirl around him; the orb grew and grew until it was the size of Ob. It flew around him, surrounding Ob. After it was around him, it closed in, engulfing Ob in a beautiful display of purple and silver. Ob''s eyes glowed purple for a brief second, then returned to the Solar Eclipse. Item: Mystic Essence Has been consumed. Consumption has produced the skill for the Nurture Power. Nurture Power: Slayer Skill: Light Bolt Use your inner manna and connection with the physical reality to summon a bolt of light. The bolt of light deals extra damage to those who practice dark arts, spawn of dark creatures, or dark creatures themselves. If the attack lands, there is a 15% chance of causing temporary dizziness on an opponent. Reach Silver Level to level up Light Bolt. "You also can slay enemies of the dark," Vincent said, "I wonder if that is because of our run-in with the succubus; having those two attack us early on was brutal; now you have the skills to do double damage." "That is a good skill to get," Abigail reported proudly, "you will be able to cast spells now from a distance, that is useful.¡± "I agree with both of you. Do all skills increase with level? This is the first time I saw something that said that?" Ob asked "It depends," Abigail responded, "Sometimes there is a specific thing that they change to, like your light bolt. Other times, there are multiple, and the person has to figure out what the change is. Typically, it changes based on your nature." Ob nodded his understanding. "May I ask, why did you choose that one over the others?" "I figured having the vile would be better for the Maverick powerset. Mixing it with my other two powersets could provide some sort of skill related to Hades. Or maybe potion crafting. The other, not sure what healing would look like for a Slayer, but not sure if it would have been great." "Good thinking. It''s getting late; let''s look to call it a night and begin training tomorrow. We can go back to that cave." Vincent, yawning, said, "I''m sleepy; the trades hall always takes it out of me." Ob agreed and headed to his room, saying his goodbyes. Ob couldn''t sleep; his mind was racing, so much had happened that day. All the names, the people, the clothes, the god, it was overwhelming. However, something about Goldar struck him; the god offered to shake his hand. He also seemed the same as a being with a mass amount of power. Status: Ob Jones Level Up: Aura manipulation has leveled up to level 3 You have encountered a being with great aura. Their aura showed little effect on you, thus bolstering your aura defense. Level Up: Soul manipulation has leveled up to level 4 You have encountered a being with a divine soul. Their contact with you has altered your soul slightly. Did you believe in gods before? Well, now you have encountered one. I thought soul manipulation was supposed to be hard, yet I have gotten four levels already, Ob thought; unless this also goes to level 100, then damm, I''ve got a long way to go. What''s crazy is all the people in town; I need to look at these manipulations because if what Janice said is true, being a Draconian and having that written all over my aura is not good. Ob thought about trying to meditate; this was a practice he would do at home before big track meets. He would focus on his breathing, then silencing his mind. He had felt what his soul and aura felt like, but he wasn''t sure how exactly to meditate on that. He thought back to when he first woke up in this world. That was his soul, according to VON¡­ VON, wait, he had VON. VON has leveled up. VON is now level 5. VON can now appear in front of Ob as whatever Ob desires in order to facilitate conversations. How would you like VON to appear in front of you? Oh, that''s fun; how about a little silver fox? Ob thought to VON. Ob watched as he made his mental command. As a silver light materialized in front of him, there sat a little fox. The fox looked at Ob quizzically, then began speaking into his mind with the voice of VON. Hello Ob. How can I help you? "Oh hey, so I got those aura and soul manipulation powers," Ob began to say aloud, feeling comforted by speaking with his mouth rather than his mind. "I have no idea what that means, how I got it, or how to even train it. And if I am truly being honest with myself, I don''t even know how what an aura OR soul is for that matter." Looking down at his hands, he stated, "I feel like I have been thrown into a huge lake with a bunch of tools in a foreign language and was told to survive." He continued, at this point, he was just venting, "People say I am this powerful being or something that I should be cautious about who I am; if I am that powerful, then why should I be cautious? Why should I care what others think of me? Shit, I didn''t care what people thought of me back on¡­. Earth," he hesitated, unsure if he even wanted to call Earth home anymore. Ob had been on this new planet or dimension, whatever you wanted to call it, for 6 days at this point, not even a week, and he felt more like himself than he ever had. After all, he had already been adopted; why not adopt an entire new world? He hadn''t known his birth family anyway, just like how he doesn''t have one here. "Yet here I am," he continued after his long thought ended, "full of all these magical powers. I don''t have to stand for people treating me badly anymore." He paused, realizing he had just dumped a lot of heaviness he had not realized he had been carrying. He took a long and slow deep breath, rubbed his temples, and sighed it out, "What is an aura, and how do I use it? How do I increase my soul strength?" The silver fox VON had just been sitting there listening to him in detail, with no judgment, no annoyance, just sitting. It waited until Ob asked the question directly, then said, An aura is your magical presence manifested. All magical beings possess an aura; the stronger the magical being, the stronger the aura. Usually, auras do not manifest in physical reality, meaning they cannot be seen. However, beings who possess strong magical powers can manifest their aura. VON looked at Ob to see if he was still spying attention; Aura for Ob Jones is black and orange, matching the shine of a solar eclipse. When aura is used in the physical world, it will become waves of that. Meditation, feeling, and understanding of the magic coursing through your being and control all help increase aura manipulation levels. Souls are within every living creature. A soul is what makes the creature a creature. Imagine the soul as a blueprint for a building. It is intricate, it is delicate, and it is vital. Now imagine a small creature versus a giant creature. The blueprints are going to be different; their souls will be different sizes. A mouse will have a more minor, thus more controllable soul, whereas a tiger will have a more significant, thus less controllable soul. Your soul has an extensive blueprint, a blueprint that is rival to gods; in order to access all the areas of your soul, practice and time are needed. Meditation, understanding, and control help gain and maintain all the aspects of a soul. Mediation, huh, but I have to focus on feeling the magic. Feeling the magic. Feeling the magic, Ob thought to himself, getting into his meditative state, which was lying on his back, one arm across his chest, the other still stiff by his side. He began to slow and control his breathing. He focused on that feeling of the fire starting in his stomach. As Ob thought, he began to imagine a tiny black flame spark in his belly, and he followed the flame. The flame was connected to a long channel of pathways. It looked like a busy Metropolitan city with all the crossways and streets. The sparked moved like a small car navigating these streets; he tracked it. As the spark was moving, he noticed that he could feel his knees get warmer; it was going down, progressing into his shin bone and ankle. He paused as he felt the flame leave his toes. He opened his eyes to see an aura all around him; judging by what VON said, it was his. The black and orange aura was swirling. It was breathtaking. Ob moved to tears at how beautiful the sight was. It looked like the Northern Lights but was orange, red, and black instead of blue and green. Chapter 14 - Obliteration Maeva Coldin has been exploring these caves for many moons. She wasn''t lost. She was a scout for hire. Her entire career has been centered around spying on others, scouting difficult places for other teams, or creating a map for small parties or businesses. She loved this work; she loved that she was her own boss. No one was going to tell her what to do anymore. She had done the whole party thing before, which was not her style. Her leader was a jerk, always sticking her nose up at everyone as if she was better than them just cause her parents were dukes of a small provincial town. Maeva Coldin was a petite woman. She has a round face with sharp eyes. Her hair was short-cropped about shoulder length. It was wavy and earthly brown mixed with some blonde. She had dark tan skin and hazel eyes. If Ob had seen her, he would say she looked like a gymnast, with short, big legs, a strong core, and arms. She was fast and great at hiding. She had finally completed her mission, and she would be paid well for it. A silver-tier party wanted the Tornoc caves scouted out before their raid. There were rumors of legendary loot coming from adamantium-tier monsters, and this made the cave worth it. They wanted a map so they could escape quickly if they failed to conquer the monster. Job complete; she was expecting to meet the team in the small town; it was so small that it didn''t even have a name. "Ugh, what a drab; these small towns are unbearable sometimes," She thought to herself, her voice soft and raspy with a hint of constant sass. "I''ll stay one night until the team is off to Andohull first thing. I cannot stay around here for too long."
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Three knocks woke Ob up from his deep sleep; he didn''t have a dream. First time since waking up here a week ago. Ob spent all last night meditating and training his aura/soul. He felt a different connection to the world as he had begun feeling the magic course through his body. He concluded he liked how the aura made him feel. Vincent, growing tired of Ob''s delay, burst through the door, "Come on, Ob, we''re off to train, we have to head to that cave, it''s time you learned!" He was pretty excited to be training; he had wanted to train with Ob since the day they met him. He wanted to figure out how this guy ticked and if he had a work ethic. "Were you training last night?" Ob rolled out of his bed on the floor and put some clothes on. While putting on his clothes, he responded, "Yeah, aura and soul, kind of. I was getting the basic understanding of the two." "Does Your world not have aura or souls?" "Well, not sure, we have people who claim they can read auras but really are just lying. And souls are harder to prove without magic." "Did you believe in a soul? Before here?" Vincent asked with the same excitement as Abigail. "Well, yes and no. Souls aren''t tangible in that world; it is something felt with a deep inherent understanding of you and your interests or beliefs." Ob responded by putting on his boots. The two men continued their conversation in the central area of their inn suite; Abigail joined them as Ob spoke some more, "Back there, a soul is something you feel but not enough to experience. For instance, when you do something that you really like, eating ice cream, watching a movie, or hanging with a loved one, you feel much more¡­" he paused, searching for the right word, "I don''t know, you just have this feeling of being very content, and people say, my soul is full." "What is ice.. cream¡­? Or a movie?" Abigail asked with bewilderment. Saddened by the prospect of no ice cream, he dismissed that question, "Never having ice cream is criminal! Nevermind that, that is something we''ll have to discuss later. My point is, souls are just feelings, but we can''t prove that they are real." Ob felt something prick his senses, but he let that sit for a bit. "But, is it not real if you feel it?" Abigail questioned with a hint of passion in her voice, "I may not be able to prove my feelings for pain, but I know I feel them. If I am grieving over the death of a loved one, I cannot prove that I am in pain, I am simply, in pain. So should not that feeling be enough to prove souls are real" Ob chuckled; he liked seeing how passionate Abigail got. "You make a convincing argument there," Ob conceited. "My my, what a chatty bunch you all are," a soft and raspy voice said from the shadows of the cave. "Been watchin'' y''all for some time and yet. None of you reacted to my presence.. not very aware are we?" That last bit was full of sarcasm and sass. Vincent, the team''s scout, turned red. He wasn''t even talking, and he didn''t notice this person. How was he meant to be the scout if he couldn''t even sense this person? As if his friends had read his mind, Abigail touched him with a calming, reassuring touch, and Ob said, "Don''t worry about it, Vincent. She is a high-level scout." Louder to the woman, he said, "Nah, I sensed you; you just didn''t pose a threat to the three of us. You are good, though." At that remark, the woman crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. She did not believe this man sensed her presence; she was too good at her job to be sensed. "Yeah, whatever you say, pretty boy," She said, staring back at Ob, "My y''all are all pretty cute. Anyways, there is a party coming here in two days'' time, so if you''re going to be exploring the cave, better be quick with it." Before she even heard a response, she stepped into the light and walked past them. "Thanks," Ob said, getting a good look at the woman who had walked past. She was short and built. Turning to Abigail, Ob asked, "Hey, is everyone here just attractive, or is that a magic thing?" Abigail raised an eyebrow, turning to see the woman, "she definitely heard you say that.¡± Ob shrugged, smiled and wiggled his eyebrows back at Abigail. She rolled her eyes and continued,¡± Magic helps yes. The more you level up the more powerful you get, this plays to the perception. If you are a friendly person you will give off the perception of being more attractive, if you are an enemy you will give off the perception of being more dangerous. Imagine it similar to a person being more attractive the more confidence they have." "Yeah that makes sense, so it''s not a physical thing, it is a perceptual thing?" Ob responded with a nod. "Just as you say. However, people are still attractive without that perception, they just look even more attractive." "Ahh, like you," Ob said absentmindedly, not knowing he had said it out loud. Abigail''s face turned red slightly, and Vincent stopped in his tracks. "What?! I have eyes; you did good, Vincent." Vincent chuckled at that, "I did, didn''t I!" he said proudly, grabbing his girlfriend''s hip and kissing her cheek. Abigail, getting tired of the limelight and talks about her beauty, changed the conversation, "That woman said we have a couple of days before a crusader party is coming. Let''s get to it." The training was different from what Ob expected. They used their powers, but not entirely; it was a mixture of sparring - hand-to-hand and weapon-to-weapon combat. They did push-ups, they did sit-ups, they stretched. Ob thought to himself that this was just like the training he did at home, and he loved it. He excelled in all the bodyweight exercises; this was his bread and butter, and this is what he did for a living workout. The couple looked on at Ob with wonderment; he thrived in training. It didn''t even seem like it phased him the things they had to do. He pushed himself harder than both of them and had this mindset that he could do one more rep every single time. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. After the physical training, they all found a place where they could practice their magic. Vincent was excited; it was time for him to showcase his skills. Abigail explained how they could gain levels by successful hits; this meant that it was hard to level up on each other. That was not the point of training, she said firmly; it was to get used to each other''s powers. To see how the party could be cohesive and thrive. "Ob, you deal heavy damage with your dragon''s breath. Vincent does great damage from a distance." Abigail started, "We had a great strategy when we were fighting the succubus party; it was natural. I felt like our timing went well. We struggled, though, when it came to the succubus transforming to that thing, and Ob couldn''t get close for physical attacks." "Speaking of your physical attacks," Vincent interrupted, "they aren''t physical are they? Your kicks and punches?" "No, they are not," Abigail retorted, "they are spiritual; they are soul attacks manifested in the physical reality." "That''s right, honestly not sure how or why, but that is how I killed that wraith, VON said that I would only be able to kill a wraith with a soul attack" Ob responded. "Anyways, you couldn''t get close," Abigail said, bringing the conversation back on topic, "you have two new modes of attack, your new skill and your scythe. I want you to spend an hour learning how to use both of those effectively. Vincent and I will work on our attack and defense styles. I did not get to use my new toxic pulse, and I want to figure out how we can add that into our combos." Ob nodded and left the couple. "Hey, VON, can you make many small foxes? I want to see if I can use that to practice the feelings?" Three silver foxes appeared around Ob, and they started to sprint in a circle. "Nice!" Ob said with determination painting his face; he pulled out Hades and got into a fighting stance. Without a moment''s notice, he launched at the circle of sprint foxes; one of the foxes dodged to the left of Ob, and Ob turned to the right and slashed backward to get the fox next to his left. He missed; trickery did not work. Ob took a deep breath and felt a warmth surge in his hands like he was holding a light bulb that was turned on. He felt the passage of manna enter his hands, and through the staff of Hades, with a long diagonal slash, he released a slash of light towards the fox; the fox looked to dodge, but it had nowhere to escape. The slash hit the fox, and it impacted with a boom. The fox vanished into silver smoke. "One down." The next fox was following him heel to toe. Ob thought it didn''t want to suffer the same fate as the other fox, and using his aura, he released some aura from his heel. He felt it connect with the fox, and he quickly turned and kicked. He missed, and the fox jumped over his leg. The fox lunged at Ob and bared his teeth towards his neck; Ob dodged, swinging his weapon towards the fox. That one strike connected with that silver fox; it sent the silver fox flying into the roof of the cave and exploded into silver smoke. "One more left" Ob started searching for that final fox, but he couldn''t see it. That made him nervous. The fox was stalking him, hiding. Ob used his cloak and jumped into a shadow, using his senses to search for the fox. He found it as he began to reappear out of the shadow. He felt his ribs get impacted with the butt of a hammer. It sent him flying across the coarse rocky ground on his other side. He looked up to see a giant creature. It was about 11 feet tall, with a body made of solid rock, with yellow eyes and sapphire lines throughout it. "Damn, ouch" he looked down to see blood trickling out of his side. He got up to look at the giant golem; it was swinging a hammer in its hands. Objective: Survive You have been attacked by a minor sapphire golem. Defeat it and receive a reward. Hidden Bonus award available. "Damn, a minor sapphire golem... That''s minor?" The golem swung its hammer again towards Ob''s head. Ob ducked and swung Hades towards the golem. As he swung the scythe, he felt that light feeling in his hands again, and as he swung, he focused the feeling on flowing through his hand and onto the staff of the scythe, then through to the blades, which sent a light bolt towards the golem''s legs. It connected, and a small boom erupted, and a minor crack formed at the golem''s right leg. "Damn," Ob swore to himself; that attack barely did any damage. The golem walked towards Ob and slammed the hammer into the ground; the ground erupted in blue crystals charging into Ob; he dodged narrowly, almost getting struck. Ob jumped into a shadow to reappear and swing his weapon; he slashed at the golem''s hammer arm. Small cracks of blue started to form in the arm of the golem. Ob jumped into the shadows again and went for the same hammer arm; again, small cracks were growing little by little. The golem, getting more and more agitated, started being more aggressive with its attacks. This time, the golem swung up and struck the ceiling while also striking the ground; blue crystals shot out of the roof and the floor, trapping Ob in a cage of sapphire. The golem slowly approached, the blue cracks starting to shrink as it was healing itself. Hammer in hand, the golem readied another blow; as it swung on the cage, Ob jumped into shadows, this was the first time he had been into the shadow realm since the skill progressed. The realm was a misty deep gray, it looked like the world but grayed out and cloudy. He could still sense, unlike the first time, pre-bronze tier, he could make out vague shapes and move smoother. The golem¡¯s powerful swing, struck down destroying the cage but also following through, altering his swing rotation to land behind itself, expecting Ob to reappear there. He did not. Ob reappeared in the newly smashed cage. Now free from his cage, Ob performed another light attack on the same leg. The attack connected more cracks; this time, Ob appeared behind it and used Hades to continue to swipe and swipe at the leg. As he was getting ready to swipe once again, the golem swung down with the hammer, and a vast crater formed where Ob once stood. Ob was getting tired, his manna was running low, and he was about 50% left. He knew that he had to save some for his final dragon''s breath but wasn''t sure how much more he could take of this. Ob let out another light bolt with Hades to attack that same leg; this time, there was a small boom. The golem''s leg was nothing but blue smoke. The golem lost balance now that its leg was obliterated and started to fall on top of Ob. As it was falling, it was readying another attack with its large hammer. Ob ducked into the shadows and reappeared in the air behind the golem. He felt the fire spark inside his belly, and he focused, forcing that spark to grow bigger and bigger into a raging fire; he sent it up his throat. As he was focusing, the golem had a trick of his own; the blue lines on the golem began to glow a marvelous blue sheen. The golem turned quickly and swung its hammer in the air. As Ob prepared for his dragon''s breath, the golem''s swing struck him hard in the stomach. The swing was devastating; it put so much force into that swing that Ob spat out blood. And sent him flying several feet back. He grunted and got to his knees. Pride, arrogance, whatever you want to call it, this is what kept Ob from giving up; this is what kept Ob from running away and fighting another day. Standing up, spitting more blood out, he pushed that fire forward with some force and additional will to produce a massive dragon''s fireball. Black and orange flames engulfed the golem fully. The fireball melted the golem into a beautiful sapphire molten pile. Defeated. Ob grimaced as he felt his side; the adrenaline from the fight hid how much damage he had taken. He looked and felt his side; it was swollen and warm to the touch, and he broke at least one rib. Monster Defeated: Minor Sapphire Golem You have defeated a minor sapphire golem. Level: 24 Reward: 15000 gold pieces (amulet in effect) Reward: Golem''s Hammer Reward: Sapphire Gems x5 Reward: L Explier Objective: Survive - Completed You have survived the attack from the minor sapphire golem. Reward for completing objective - Golem Charm Hidden Objective: Obliteration You have completed the hidden objective, obliteration. Killing a golem is good, but these particular gem golem''s can be melted down, and their molten metal can be collected. Reward: Molten Gemstone: Sapphire Ob felt awful. His side hurt a lot; his head was pounding. He looked at his manna; it was almost empty. He slowly walked back to where his party had been. He stumbled up to them, clutching his side, still bleeding out slowly. He heard Abigail scream his name; Vincent was there in a flash to hold him up; Ob heard some vague chanting and passed out. Chapter 15 - Priests, Warlocks, and Enchantresses "Where are you going to go?" A deep voice spoke, "We have given you everything these last few years, and this is how you repay us. Just leaving?" the man was dark-skinned and skinny; his deep voice didn''t match his features. "So you adopting me means that I am in debt to you?" a voice responded, "That doesn''t sound like adoption but slavery." "Slavery?! Why be so dramatic, Oscar-Blane? Do you think that you are a slave? Did we make you work, did we starve you? Did we force you into a house outside of our own? Did we treat you any differently?" The man was growing angry. "No, yes, you did, no, you didn''t, and yes, I live in the shed literally outside of your house, and of course, you treated me differently. Why do you think I worked so hard to prove myself to you all? No matter what I did, it was never enough; I was always not your child. This is the final reminder of that." Oscar gathered his bags and began to walk out. "If that is how it is, you best give us all the stuff we bought for you." The man screamed. "It is all in the shed." Without so much a glance back in the direction of the man, he said, "Thanks for loaning it all to me. See you later, Blaise." "Rot in hell, Oscar, you better not show your face to us again. I wish we never adopted you!" Charming, he might regret saying that, Oscar thought to himself as he walked away from the place that was his home.
Another dream? That was a rough one. Damn. Ob woke up after that dream to see Abigail kneeling over him. She smelt like evergreen trees; it was pleasant and comforting. She was chanting something in her mother tongue and holding Ob''s side. She saw his eyes open, and she smiled brightly at him. "Glad to see you are awake. You have been out for a couple of hours. Take your time; your rib is nearly healed. It will be another hour or so." "What happened there, big guy?" Vincent asked, sitting up next to the fire and roasting some meat. "I uhhh was attacked by a golem. I was training my light bolt, and using my scythe, the giant thing snuck up on me," Ob said with a croaky voice. "Smashed me in the side with the hammer, smashing my rib." "Did you beat it?" Abigail asked, eyes looking worried. "I did, level 24." "WHAT?! You did what? How on the gods did you manage something almost silver?" amazement in her eyes as she spoke. "It took a big chunk out of me, so struggle bus," he responded. "Ob, that is nearly 20 levels higher than you; it should have killed you with that first strike. Yet here you are, alive, and there it is, dead. You have to tell us everything." Ob retold his friends about how he was training with VON; things were going exceptionally well with the training until the golem showed up. He hadn''t heard or felt the golem appear; it just did. The swing from the hammer impacted his side and sent him flying. He told them the tactics he used to defeat the enemy; he didn''t embellish, nor did he hide moments where he could have fought smarter. Abigail looked at Ob with awe; this man had just defeated a monster much higher level than him; his strategy was sound, and his judgment was sharp. He wouldn''t have been able to escape. A golem creates an arena that traps its opponents. That is why he couldn''t sense its presence. It hid it from him; he blocked him. The trio decided that was enough of the training for the day, and they should head back to town. Ob needed to stop by Reginald''s tailor shop; it was time for his armor to be picked up. Stumbling into the shop, Ob opened the door and approached Reginald, holding his ribs. "Hey there Reginald." "Ahh, Sir Ob, looking a little rough for wear there," Reginald said, greeting his customer. "I assume you are here for your new armor and attire?" Ob nodded, not fully replying. "Very well, right this way, sir." Reginald led Ob to a back room where three black bags were hanging on the wall. "First," he said, "we have your newly renovated dragon tunic, I took the liberty of adding your personal scheme to it," Reginald held up an all-black tunic that shimmered orange and red, much like Eclipse''s body. The body was form-fitting and felt loose. "The tunic itself provides significant aura and manna boosts. It has the normal dragon set bonuses that it provides. It is self-repairing too, this my good sir was not easy to add, with the magic of the dragon already infused. I took the liberty as well to add a sheath for your weapon there, you can add it to your back with ease. When you place your scythe''s staff to your back, the sheath will clamp down." "Next, we have your former attire." Reginald held up an all-white suit with a diamond blue vest and tie. The suit had dark brown shoes and a dark brown belt to match. The suit jacket itself had 6 buttons, two columns of 3 buttons. It had a long tail end at the back. "This is your suit to wear at formal events, balls, galas, or meeting royalty. Your dragon tunic can be worn under it in case things go south quickly. This suit can be dissolved with your soul projection and recede if you do need to attack. This is a bondable item; they all are." The last one we have is your additional armor," Reginald continued; he held up armor that did not look like armor. It was slender and looked like it was made from snakeskin. It did not provide any kind of protection whatsoever. "This is made from the monolith snake. It has the property to protect against soul and aura attacks. It does nothing for magic or physical damage. Not sure when you would need it, but I felt as if it was something you could use." Reginald concluded, looking up at his customer with beaming eyes. Ob stood speechless. "This is amazing Reginald, I could not have asked for better quality. Sincerely, here is a tip." Ob collected his things and put the armor in his inventory. Then he handed Reginald a bag full of gold pieces. "Sir. This is far too much, this is more than your attire." Reginald stood aghast as he looked at the 5000 gold piece tip that Ob gave him. "You have done right by me, Reginald, and that is not something that I can pay. You took time to do this, and for that, I am grateful. Thank you," Ob said, bowing his head and shaking the tailor''s hand. Reginald was speechless. He shook Ob''s hand and watched him walk out. Back at the apartment, the crew had sent food to the room. Ob was spent. He hated how potions tasted, he hated how long his manna took to recharge, and his head was pounding. "There has got to be a way to make these things taste better," Ob complained while holding a manna potion in his hand. "There is," Vincent spoke, looking up from cleaning his bow, "Cooking and brewing is the way to do that. You can find recipes and grow the skill. I am pretty sure that it could turn into an ability if you practice hard enough." "That is correct." Abigail said, "But we have plenty of potions, no reason to spend the time." "I beg to differ, I love cooking! These potions taste like I licked the inside of a pole in a men''s bathroom." Ob responded with a disgusted face. "Why do you know what that tastes like?" Abigail asked slowly. "Hey, it''s time for Eclipse to wake up," Ob said, changing the subject. A portal opened up, and Eclipse walked out. "You are beat up; what happened?" She asked right away, staring at Ob. "A sapphire golem, but we got some great spoils!" Ob responded with excitement to hide the evident pain he was in. Eclipse stared at Ob and then said nothing. Eclipse has known Ob long enough through the soul-link to understand how he works. He uses excitement and humor to mask the pain he feels; she understands that Ob feels embarrassed for getting ambushed and not sensing it; the broken ribs serve as a reminder that he was not good enough. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Item: Golem''s Hammer Weapon Rare The hammer of a gem golem. Indestructible when being used as a forge hammer, powerful when being used as a weapon against earth, stone, or gem-based enemies. Very heavy, level requirement Silver. Insufficient level to wield. Item: Sapphire Gems Craftable item Uncommon A gemstone made of blue crystal can be used to craft jewelry to imbue additional magic into those pieces of jewelry. Item: Golem Charm Soul-Link Rare The charm grants the power to create a soul-link with a golem. The golem must be of equal or lower level or age, whichever is lower. The golem has the right to refuse the link; if this happens, the charm will become inactive for 7 days. After that, the charm may be attempted again on a different dragon. Soul-link, you gain a buddy for life. You and the being you are soul-linked, too, will travel together and explore the world. An extremely unique bond is that those who are soul-linked have an intrinsic understanding of each other''s feelings, thoughts, auras, and souls. The two grow stronger as they work together, becoming an unbreakable unit. Item: Molten Gemstones - Sapphire Bondable Item Legendary Use this item on a soul-linked partner to add sapphire to their genetic makeup. "Molten gemstones," Ob said out loud slowly, "that sounds like an insane item to have." "It is," Abigail responded, walking over and giving Eclipse a quick pat hello, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by anyone, "It is exceptional for golems, although you can add them to any other kind of being to give them some bonus to sapphire. I would not use it on Eclipse!" "Wasn''t thinking about it; I got this Golem charm; I definitely don''t want a Golem as a soul-link; I move quick and disappear quickly; Golems are not that quick," Ob responded, giving Eclipse a firm nod. "I''d save it," Vincent said, "None of us really move that slow; maybe we''ll find someone in our party who could benefit if you don''t want to sell it, of course." "Nah, not gonna, don''t need the gold right now. That is a good idea tho, yeah I''ll save it for a new friend." Ob paused as he let the wave of pain wash over him, "Hey Abigail, can you do that healing magic water thing?" She looked as if she was going to correct him, but she just nodded, looking at her very beaten friend. She walked into his room and began chanting over the water. Her eyes glowed that same teal blue color that it always does when she is spell casting, a mark of an enchantress. If it weren''t for Vincent, she would be even more disappointed in her eyes than she already was. When performing magic, the glowing of the eyes happens to a few people; priests, warlocks, and enchantresses. Their eyes either change color to match their deity or their aura. Abigail had always expected her aura to be forest green, like her kingdom''s colors. Finding it was not; that was hard for her; she felt like she was going against everything her kingdom was. She freed herself from this trail of deep thoughts, placed her hands into the water, and continued her chanting to add healing magic to the water. Once done, she walked back out to the group in their shared living space and told Ob it was completed and he could go heal. Eclipse followed Ob into his room so they could catch up on all that happened. Got into the bath and asked Eclipse to make it hot with her dragon''s breath, one part training, one part very relaxing. As he was relaxing, he shared with Eclipse the story of the sapphire golem attacking him and all their encounters. Eclipse''s thoughts were stuck on the woman that Ob had mentioned, Maeva; she had a feeling that they had not seen the last of her. She was curious if her instincts were telling her to be cautious or if she would be an excellent addition to the team. "Did you level up?" Eclipse asked, already knowing the answer; she could feel how much stronger he had gotten. "No, too many notifications, I had to just mute them for the time being. A lot of them were probably telling me that I was going to die, honestly," he responded softly. Ob Jones Level up - Skill: Dragon''s Hide Dragon¡¯s Hide is now level 8 Level up - Skill: Dragon''s Breath Dragon¡¯s Breath is now level 17 Level up - Power: Draconian Ally Draconian Ally is now level 12 Level up - Skill: Stalker Stalker is now level 9 Level up - Skill: Light Bolt Light Bolt is now level 10 Level up-Power: Slayer Slayer is now level 8 Ob Jones is now level 6 Status: Ob Jones. Race: human subset, earthling. Progress to Celestine: 75% Level: Bronze Tier - Lvl 6Natural Power - Draconian Ally lvl. 12 Skill: Dragon''s Breath lvl. 17 Skill: Dragon''s Hide lvl. 8 Nurtured Power - Slayer lvl. 8 Skill: Stalker lvl. 9 Skill: Light Bolt lvl. 10 Federation Power - Undecided lvl. 0 Skill: Empty Skill: Empty Aura manipulation lvl. 3 Soul manipulation lvl. 4 75%, whoa, Ob thought. What have I done to even grow this much? I don''t feel different, but I do know each of my dreams has been very negative memories related to his home world. My world wasn''t all bad; I definitely had some good memories, he thought. He felt as if this world, his dreams, were trying to convince him that his old world was evil and this world was good. Ob didn''t think in black or white; he thought in gray. He didn''t want to be convinced that one was all bad or one was all good, he loved this world, and he loved his old life; yeah, these things suck, but things suck here. He was a man who liked to make his own decisions and was not someone who was afraid to be wrong or change his mind. Ob, realizing he had just been staring at the water for too long without saying a word, came back from his thoughts. "Damn," Ob exclaimed, "How is Light Bolt already level 10?!" "Was that an attack you used frequently on the golem?" Eclipse asked, "Yes, but not any big damage was done¡­" "Correct, it was level one, but your first hit most likely leveled up the attack. The golem was at a higher level than you, so any successful hit would produce significant experience. I am shocked that it did not go much higher." "I am pretty sure that once I get that federation, then my level will skyrocket because right now, I have a solid 0 in that average." "Yes, perhaps, although you were successful. Do not continue to attempt to kill 20 levels higher than you all the time." "I know, I know. Did you think that I wanted this Eclipse? My ribs are broken; I was training. I got blindsided. You don''t think I know to not go after anything that much higher. I got jumped!" Ob''s frustration bubbled over, and he breathed a huge fire breath. Eclipse looked ashamed of herself. She knew that he was feeling remorseful already, but why had she felt the need to press him. Why was she so hell bent on being a mother figure or a mentor or something. For whatever reason, maybe her dragon pride, she felt his superior. She understood that if she kept pushing him, he would not be as accommodating to her as he had been. She understood all of this, yet she couldn''t help but feel his superior. It was clear he had a good understanding of this world and had clearly accepted magic. He was growing stronger every day; he was learning faster than she had ever seen any being learn. He was her superior, and she had a tough time accepting this simple fact. She was a princess, after all, the next in line to be the Queen of the clan, but she had left the crown to explore the world. Did she miss the crown? Did she miss her home? Whatever it was or whatever it is she needed to figure it out. She wanted to be better for him, and she didn''t want to keep pissing him off.